a severe shortcoming

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "a severe shortcoming" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe a significant flaw or deficiency in something, such as a plan, product, or argument. Example: "The report highlighted a severe shortcoming in the company's safety protocols that needed immediate attention."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

But while that phosphor offered the elusive blue glow, Mr. Carkner acknowledged that it had a severe shortcoming.

The New York Times - Tech

However, a severe shortcoming of these data is that there is no information on educational attainment of both migrants and natives such that it is not possible to estimate the contribution of education to the assimilation process, which is instead one of the main contributions of our paper.

IZA Journal of Migration

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

55 human-written examples

One may decide to stop further development of a model if severe shortcomings of a model become obvious, even if complete information about a model is not yet available.

Behavioral and Brain Functions

The analysis reveals severe shortcoming in policy design in most European countries, although Denmark provides a more promising example.

Land Use Policy

It is, however, important to stress that this course of action inevitably led to a series of severe shortcomings.

BMC Public Health

However, such a relationship has two severe shortcomings: i) as no organism can produce indefinitely many offspring there will always be an upper limit to reproduction and ii) as a minimum of resources has to be invested to successfully produce and raise one single offspring there is a lower limit of resources necessary to start reproduction.

BMC Ecology

"The last several days have revealed severe shortcomings in our preparedness to support news organizations in their efforts to cover U.S. military operations in Afghanistan".

The New York Times

Yes, the 2000 election made clear that many voting systems have severe shortcomings and that the federal government has a stake in making sure states take action.

The New York Times

PACE may also discuss a motion challenging the Georgian deputies' credentials, on the grounds of severe shortcomings identified in the parliamentary elections there in May.

The Economist

He needed to be a guy who was a racist and really paranoid, and who, despite all his various severe shortcomings, you had to feel sorry for by the end of the hour.

The New York Times - Arts

In a recent paper Simar and Wilson [38] emphasised that these conventional approaches have severe shortcomings because the efficiency scores generated at the first stage are strongly dependent on each other in the statistical sense, and using them in a second stage regression might violate the basic model assumption required by regression.

Health Economics Review

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using the phrase "a severe shortcoming", ensure that you clearly articulate the specific nature and consequences of the shortcoming to provide context for the reader.

Common error

Avoid using "a severe shortcoming" for minor issues. Reserve this phrase for truly significant flaws that have considerable negative impact.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "a severe shortcoming" functions as a noun phrase, identifying a significant defect or inadequacy. As noted by Ludwig, it describes something as having a major flaw.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

News & Media

38%

Science

38%

Encyclopedias

6%

Less common in

Wiki

6%

Formal & Business

4%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "a severe shortcoming" is a noun phrase used to denote a significant flaw or deficiency. As indicated by Ludwig, this phrase is grammatically correct and appears most frequently in news and scientific contexts. When employing this phrase, ensure you provide specific details about the shortcoming and its implications. While alternatives like "a critical deficiency" or "a major weakness" can be used, "a severe shortcoming" is appropriate when emphasizing the gravity of the issue.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

a critical deficiency

Replaces "shortcoming" with "deficiency" and "severe" with "critical", emphasizing the importance of the flaw.

a major weakness

Substitutes "shortcoming" with "weakness" and "severe" with "major", highlighting a significant point of vulnerability.

a significant flaw

Replaces "shortcoming" with "flaw" and "severe" with "significant", indicating a notable imperfection.

a serious defect

Uses "defect" instead of "shortcoming" and "serious" instead of "severe", suggesting a grave imperfection.

a substantial limitation

Replaces "shortcoming" with "limitation" and "severe" with "substantial", indicating a considerable restriction.

a glaring imperfection

Substitutes "shortcoming" with "imperfection" and "severe" with "glaring", emphasizing the obvious nature of the flaw.

a considerable failing

Uses "failing" instead of "shortcoming" and "considerable" instead of "severe", indicating a noteworthy lapse or fault.

a profound inadequacy

Replaces "shortcoming" with "inadequacy" and "severe" with "profound", emphasizing a deep lack of something essential.

a grave disadvantage

Substitutes "shortcoming" with "disadvantage" and "severe" with "grave", highlighting a serious obstacle or handicap.

a crippling drawback

Uses "drawback" instead of "shortcoming" and "crippling" instead of "severe", suggesting a significant impediment that severely limits effectiveness.

FAQs

How can I use "a severe shortcoming" in a sentence?

You can use "a severe shortcoming" to point out a significant defect or deficiency in something. For instance, "The project suffered from "a severe shortcoming" in its initial planning phase."

What is the difference between ""a severe shortcoming"" and "a minor flaw"?

"A severe shortcoming" indicates a significant and impactful defect, while "a minor flaw" refers to a small and relatively unimportant imperfection.

What can I say instead of ""a severe shortcoming""?

Alternatives include "a critical deficiency", "a major weakness", or "a significant flaw", depending on the specific nuance you wish to convey.

Is "a severe shortcoming of" grammatically correct?

Yes, "a severe shortcoming of" is grammatically correct. It is used to specify what the severe shortcoming pertains to, such as "A severe shortcoming of this approach is its high cost."