as in shortages
a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number
a growing deficit in the number of hours devoted to sleep
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Recent Examples of deficits
Facing budget deficits that would affect the county’s general fund and Santa Clara Valley Healthcare, which provides a healthcare safety net that includes four public hospitals and and 15 clinics, county supervisors unanimously voted in August to put Measure A on the ballot in November.
—
Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimates that the total amount of federal relief measures taken after the COVID-19 pandemic—much of which was Former President Biden’s policies— amounted to $5 trillion, resulting in deficits not seen outside of wartime.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2025
Syracuse never led in the first five overtimes, but came back from deficits ranging from two to six points in each one.
—The Athletic Staff, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025
Oil revenues are running below projections, and both the IMF and the Saudi finance ministry forecast multiyear budget deficits.
—Wael Mahdi, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2025
The keto diet restored these deficits, particularly in female APOE4 mice, normalizing most metabolites to APOE3 levels.
—New Atlas, 26 Oct. 2025
The learning deficits are hard to measure, because testing protocols have changed in the past three years.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 19 Oct. 2025
Cheap money for years to come made bigger deficits affordable.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
Real yields are still high, fiscal deficits remain historically large, and Fed rhetoric has only tentatively shifted toward easing.
—Michael Khouw, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2025
Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimates that the total amount of federal relief measures taken after the COVID-19 pandemic—much of which was Former President Biden’s policies— amounted to $5 trillion, resulting in deficits not seen outside of wartime.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2025
Syracuse never led in the first five overtimes, but came back from deficits ranging from two to six points in each one.
—The Athletic Staff, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025
Oil revenues are running below projections, and both the IMF and the Saudi finance ministry forecast multiyear budget deficits.
—Wael Mahdi, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2025
The keto diet restored these deficits, particularly in female APOE4 mice, normalizing most metabolites to APOE3 levels.
—New Atlas, 26 Oct. 2025
The learning deficits are hard to measure, because testing protocols have changed in the past three years.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 19 Oct. 2025
Cheap money for years to come made bigger deficits affordable.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
Real yields are still high, fiscal deficits remain historically large, and Fed rhetoric has only tentatively shifted toward easing.
—Michael Khouw, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deficits
Noun
-
Food shortages would mean the disappearance of luxuries and the rationing of staples, sapping public morale.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
23 Oct. 2025
-
For rural patients, travel is often an obstacle, and workforce shortages make consistent follow-up difficult.—
Scott R. Schell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
So Vegas has to hope that their forward depth is strong enough to balance out where their star power lacks, relative to other contenders.—
The Athletic NHL,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
-
This absence — of God, of love, of plain community spirit — is a metaphor for the whole parish, where everyone is defined by their own lacks and deficiencies, the weaknesses that cause Wicks to despise them and vow to bring down them all.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
That has allowed the Dodgers to hide their deficiencies in the bullpen – and ask less of their offense.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
23 Oct. 2025
-
People with severe deficiencies may require intravenous (IV) magnesium or potassium given in a healthcare setting.—
Brittany Lubeck,
Verywell Health,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deficits.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deficits. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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