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.

But the world’s willingness to hold dollars is precisely what allows the U.S. to run persistent trade deficits.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 29, 2026

"The persistence of structural primary budget deficits until 2029 may require tighter monetary policy than stipulated by the baseline scenario," the central bank said.

From Barron's • 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

The Knicks overcame a 15-point second-half deficit in the final game and multiple double-digit deficits throughout the Finals.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 14, 2026

I began thinking about what would happen if we all just acknowledged our brokenness, if we owned up to our weaknesses, our deficits, our biases, our fears.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson