(n.) Amount or extent of deficiency, as determined by some requirement or standard; as, a shortage in money accounts.

absence adulteration arrear arrearage arrears beggary break curtailment dearth decline defalcation default defect defectibility defectiveness deficiency deficit delinquency deprivation destitution discontinuity drought erroneousness failure fallibility falling short famine faultiness gap hiatus immaturity impairment imperfection impoverishment impurity inaccuracy inadequacy inadequateness incompleteness inexactitude inexactness inferiority insufficiency interval lack lacuna mediocrity missing link need omission outage patchiness paucity pinch scantiness scarcity short measure shortcoming shortfall sketchiness slump starvation tightness ullage underage undevelopment unevenness unperfectedness unsoundness want wantage