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

With two seconds left, Ogwumike collected an offensive rebound and turned a one-point deficit into a one-point lead on a short jumper, securing the win and the lone WNBA title of her career. — Annie Costabile, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026

With a suffocating debt and pension load, and another looming budget deficit, Chicago cannot afford incoherence on this important fiscal and social issue. — Joe Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026

Responses to pain, such as heat, dropped throughout the different mouse models that underwent periodic fasting, as did cognitive deficits. — Mike McRae 25, New Atlas, 25 Aug. 2026

The Colorado Rockies overcame a nine-run deficit, matching the biggest rally in team history and stunning the Atlanta Braves 12-10 on Troy Tulowitzki’s go-ahead single in the eighth inning. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026