deficits

NOUN

shortage of something needed, required

Synonyms

STRONGEST

loss shortfall

STRONG

arrears defalcation default deficiency dues inadequacy insufficiency lack paucity scantiness shortcoming

WEAK

dead horse due bill in hock in the hole in the red insufficience red ink underage

Antonyms

STRONG

abundance adequacy advantage enough perfection plenty satisfaction success sufficiency

WEAK

excess superfluousness

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

That would worsen the already difficult situation many European countries find themselves in concerning budget deficits and debt, with their capacity to borrow constrained.

From Barron's • Jun. 26, 2026

The rise of excessive current-account deficits and surpluses reflects increasingly unbalanced growth dynamics in China, the European Union and the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026

Japan earned a point in its opener, twice rallying from deficits to draw the Netherlands on Daichi Kamada’s goal in the 88th minute.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2026

The U.S. economy has strong underlying growth, but worries about large fiscal deficits had been acting as a headwind for the dollar, especially given its role as the world’s reserve currency, he noted.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 18, 2026

I’d seen enough at this point to understand how quickly even small deficits can snowball, too.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama