Mancanze

Mancanze is the plural form of the Italian noun mancanza, which refers to absence, lack, or deficiency of something that is expected or required. The term stems from the verb mancare, meaning to be lacking or to fail. In Italian usage, mancanza denotes not only physical absence but also insufficient quantity, quality, or fulfillment of obligations.

In everyday language, mancanza is commonly used with the preposition di to indicate what is missing, for example, mancanza di tempo (lack of time), mancanza di risorse (lack of resources), or mancanza di fiducia (lack of trust). The plural form mancansze often refers to multiple instances of lack or deficiency, such as mancanz e di fondi, mancanze di personale, or mancanti dati in a dataset. The nuance of mancanza differs from absence (assenza) and from carenza, which more specifically implies a shortage or insufficiency rather than a complete absence.

In professional, legal, and administrative contexts, mancances may describe failures to meet requirements, non-fulfillment of duties, or shortfalls in compliance. For example, mancances in reporting, mancances in delivery, or mancances incident to regulatory standards can be used to discuss gaps between expectations and actual performance. In statistics and data management, the term is used less commonly than missing values, with phrases like mancanze di dati occasionally appearing to indicate unavailable information.

Related terms include assenza (absence), carenza (shortage/deficiency), and deficienza (defect/shortcoming). Mancanze is a neutral, descriptive word used across domains to signal gaps, shortfalls, or absences of needed elements.