The fact that something is not available or that there is not enough of it

What is the exact meaning of «lack»? [closed]

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I want to translate a scientific questionnaire to my mother language but unfortunately I am a bit confused about the usage of «lack».

The sentence is that: «My usual diet lacks a variety of food groups»

How should I translate it exactly, as insufficient or absence meaning?

Thanks in advance

4 Answers 4

For the new version with «lack» rather than «lack of».

«My usual diet lacks a variety of food groups» means «My usual diet does not include a variety of food groups» or «My usual diet is missing a variety of food groups».

To look «lack» up in a dictionary, you need to choose the verb «lack».

Since this sentence occurs in a questionnaire, it’s probably intended as a yes/no question; that is, it sounds like the addressee is supposed to agree or disagree with the statement.

And since lack means ‘not have’, a negative predicate, disagreeing with it makes it positive, so that a «No» answer (or checkbox) means

which in turn means

The key word is variety. What the question wants to know is whether the respondent is eating all one kind of food (like rice) instead of lots of different foods. Note that a variety is the direct object of lack, which means that variety is what’s at issue.