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Defective vs Mistaken - What's the difference?

defective | mistaken |

As adjectives the difference between defective and mistaken

is that defective is while mistaken is erroneous.

As a verb mistaken is

.

defective

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Having one or more defects.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-03
    • , author= , title=The Smallest Cell , volume=101, issue=2, page=83 , magazine= citation , passage=It is likely that the long evolutionary trajectory of Mycoplasma went from a reductive autotroph to oxidative heterotroph to a cell-wall–defective degenerate parasite. This evolutionary trajectory assumes the simplicity to complexity route of biogenesis, a point of view that is not universally accepted.}}
  • lacking some forms; e.g., having only one tense or being usable only in the third person.

    • Usage notes

    * Nouns to which "defective" is often applied: merchandise, goods, part, component, product, equipment, gene, unit, construction, design, drug, memory, wiring, machine, device, instrument, hardware, software, vehicle.

    Synonyms

    * faulty

    Related terms

    * defect * defection * defector * deficiency * deficient * deficit

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A person considered to be defective.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2007, date=January 15, author=Bernard E. Harcourt, title=The Mentally Ill, Behind Bars, work=New York Times citation
    • , passage=There were many more kinds of mental institutions at mid-century, ones for “mental defectives and epileptics” and the mentally retarded, psychiatric wards in veterans hospitals, as well as “psychopathic” and private mental hospitals. }}

    See also

    *

    mistaken

    English

    Verb

    (head)
    • I'm frequently mistaken for my brother.

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Erroneous.
    • This is a clear case of mistaken identity.
  • Having an incorrect belief.
    • I think you must be mistaken .
    He admitted he was mistaken about the budget numbers.

    Usage notes

    * The phrase (and variations) is used to indicate that one is uncertain about something one has said. * Nouns to which (term) is often applied: identity, belief, notion, view, assumption, impression, idea, thinking, identification, diagnosis, interpretation, person, opinion, conclusion, judgment, conception, perception, theory, reading, concept.

    Derived terms

    * mistaken identity

    Anagrams

    * English adjectives ending in -en English irregular past participles