Synonyms of deficit

deficit

noun

ˈde-fə-sət 

as in shortage

a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number

a growing deficit in the number of hours devoted to sleep

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shortage
• lack
• deficiency
• drought
• poverty
• scarcity
• famine
• insufficiency
• inadequacy
• absence
• paucity
• crunch
• lacuna
• undersupply
• failure
• inadequateness
• pinch
• dearth
• scantiness
• omission
• scarceness
• want
• necessity
• meagerness
• privation
• skimpiness
• need
• poorness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• amplitude
• adequacy
• wealth
• abundance
• sufficiency
• plenty
• opulence
• surplus
• plenitude
• excess
• oversupply
• overabundance
• surfeit
• copiousness
• bountifulness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of deficit

Michigan State cut the deficit to seven before Williams restored Notre Dame’s two-touchdown advantage late in the first half. — Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026

The Broncos stumbled out of the blocks to a 17-3 deficit against Memphis last week, and the same happened on Saturday against South Dakota. — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 20 Sep. 2026

The Sun Devils returned it 77 yards and scored two plays later, turning what could have become a one-score game into a 24-7 deficit. — Taylor Eldridge, Kansas City Star, 20 Sep. 2026

Musically schooled in Vienna, Higginson hired the players, chose the conductors, and shouldered the deficits. — Joseph Horowitz, The New York Review of Books, 19 Sep. 2026