lacking
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lacking
Not present in sufficient quantity or quality; missing or inadequate.
Mangelndes Selbstvertrauen hinderte ihn daran, die neue Herausforderung anzunehmen.
Lacking self-confidence prevented him from taking on the new challenge.
'Mangelnd' (lacking) is the present participle of the verb 'mangeln' (to be lacking). It describes a state in which something is missing or there is 'ein Mangel' (a lack) of something.
Aufgrund mangelnder Beweise wurde der Angeklagte freigesprochen.
Due to a lack of evidence, the defendant was acquitted.
The adjective 'mangelnd' (lacking) is almost always used before a noun (attributively). Using it as a standalone predicative adjective ('Das Interesse war mangelnd' — the interest was lacking) is very rare and sounds unnatural.
Sein mangelnder Ehrgeiz ist das Hauptproblem.
His lack of ambition is the main problem.
'Mangelnd' (lacking) is very often combined with abstract nouns to describe the absence of a quality or resource. Common examples are 'mangelndes Interesse' (lack of interest), 'mangelnde Erfahrung' (lack of experience), and 'mangelndes Wissen' (lack of knowledge).
Die Firma kritisierte die mangelnde Qualifikation der Bewerber.
The company criticized the applicants' lack of qualifications.
missing
For abstract qualities, fehlend and mangelnd can seem similar. Fehlend tends to suggest that the quality is not present at all, whereas mangelnd can also describe a quality that is present but insufficient. So fehlend is the better fit for a complete absence, while mangelnd is usually used for too little.
Wegen mangelnder Erfahrung braucht die Bewerberin noch etwas Unterstützung.
Because of her limited experience, the applicant still needs some support.
Wegen völlig fehlender Erfahrung braucht die Bewerberin eine grundlegende Einführung.
Because the applicant has no experience at all, she needs a basic introduction.
