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Definitions

red ink

NOUN
debt
Synonyms
STRONGEST
arrears bill capital commitment credit damage deficit due indebtedness liability mortgage obligation price tag receipt
STRONG
IOU albatross baggage bite check chit claim cuff debenture debit dues duty encumbrance invoice manifest note reckoning responsibility score tab tally voucher
WEAK
arrearage bad news below the line dead horse in hock in the hole in the red outstandings promissory note
Antonyms
STRONG
irresponsibility
WEAK
asset cash excess profit
NOUN
deficit
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 underage
Antonyms
STRONG
abundance adequacy advantage enough perfection plenty satisfaction success sufficiency
WEAK
excess superfluousness
NOUN
shortfall
Synonyms
STRONGEST
deficiency flaw lack loss shortage shortcoming
STRONG
arrears default defectiveness inadequacy incompleteness insufficiency
WEAK
in the hole in the red insufficience underage
Antonyms
STRONGEST
abundance enough perfection plenty success sufficiency

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.

The deficit in the 2025 fiscal year was $1.78 trillion, down only slightly from the prior year’s $1.82 trillion in red ink.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

The company attributed most of the flood of red ink to “loss from investments,” of which more in a moment.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026

More significantly, doubt is creeping in about how long America’s markets will remain exceptional—stocks that trade at a premium and bonds that stay buoyant despite no end in sight to government red ink.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026

Investors are nonetheless concerned by the widening pool of red ink; wage and benefit costs also soared in the third quarter.

From Barron's • Nov. 11, 2025

The first four were wrong, and she slashed through my answers with a broad swathe of bright red ink.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt