insolvency
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of insolvency
First recorded in 1650–60; insolv(ent) + -ency
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How does insolvency compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Insolvency is when someone is completely out of money. A company's insolvency means that it isn't able to pay its workers and may have to go out of business. A family's insolvency is a frightening thing — it might result in the loss of their home, for example, since they can't afford to pay their bills. The noun insolvency is more often used to describe the financial troubles of a business or other organization. If your tennis club faces insolvency, it may need to seek help from investors or close altogether. The adjective insolvent means "unable to pay one's debts," combining the roots in, "not," and solventem, "paying."
Vocabulary lists containing insolvency
Jane Eyre
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The Princess Bride
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Vocabulary from the Twelfth Republican Debate, March 10, 2016
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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 report said the higher education regulator, the Office for Students, fears 24 providers - including seven with over 3,000 students - are at risk of insolvency and "market exit" in the next 12 months.
From BBC • May 12, 2026
Moreover, both Social Security and Medicare will be confronting insolvency by 2033.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026
Double-digit raises have been promised to union workers by a school system that for months has proclaimed that it is in dire financial straits, trapped in deficit spending and facing potential insolvency in four years.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026
This would mean "joint supervision, harmonised insolvency and greater tax coherence, which go far beyond what is currently proposed", she told AFP.
From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026
“Impossible!—when I told you how she, on the contrary, deserted me: the idea of my insolvency cooled, or rather extinguished, her flame in a moment.”
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
