in·sol·vent
(ˌ)in-ˈsäl-vənt 
-ˈsȯl-
1
a
: unable to pay debts as they fall due in the usual course of business
b
: having liabilities in excess of a reasonable market value of assets held
2
: insufficient to pay all debts
an insolvent estate
plural insolvents
: an insolvent debtor : a person or entity that is unable to pay debts as they fall due
The country's newspapers regularly published legal notices that announced private assignments for the benefit of creditors, the attachments by creditors against the property of absconding debtors, and court-mandated auctions of assets owned by insolvents.—
Edward J. Balleisen
Edward J. BalleisenExamples of insolvent in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebNbc Universal, NBC News, 17 Mar. 2024
Two-thirds of the league’s teams were effectively insolvent, their liabilities dwarfing their assets.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2024
But far from providing closure, the order — the first by a Hong Court regarding the winding up of such a large Chinese company — raised a host of questions about the future of the sprawling business and other insolvent developers.
—Anna Cooban, CNN, 2 Feb. 2024
Those losses, when combined with earlier write-offs because of higher interest rates, could make 482 banks with $1.4 trillion assets effectively insolvent.
—Aldo Svaldi, The Denver Post, 4 Jan. 2024
Bankruptcy is often the only option for floundering companies with costly leases, as U.S. law enables insolvent firms to shed cumbersome contracts that are hard to cancel otherwise.
—Ethan M Steinberg, Fortune, 7 Nov. 2023
British phone manufacturer Bullitt Group reportedly shut down on Jan. 26 after reports swirled earlier this month that the company was insolvent.
—Kate Irwin, PCMAG, 31 Jan. 2024
The new financial obligations were intended to act as a safety net for taxpayers in the event oil and gas companies become insolvent and cannot pay to plug wells.
—Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2023
The Real Deal obtained a financial report revealing that without RSA’s help — in the form of $655,000 in cash infusions so far — the organization would likely have become insolvent.
—Curbed, 5 Dec. 2023
Zain Jaffer, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024
In January, another one of DCG’s main subsidiaries, Genesis, declared its lending unit insolvent, and froze the assets of hundreds of thousands of customers.
—Jeff John Roberts, Fortune Crypto, 17 Aug. 2023
According to the latest report by Social Security's trustees, those surplus assets will be depleted and Social Security insolvent by 2033.
—Russ Wiles, The Arizona Republic, 16 July 2023
By then, the Bank of England had declared SVB UK insolvent.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 18 Mar. 2023
That forced the bank to sell a chunk of its bonds at a steep loss, and the pace of those withdrawals accelerated as word spread, effectively rendering Silicon Valley Bank insolvent.
—Christopher Rugaber, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Mar. 2023
Actively betting that the spring meltdown would continue could well have left a bearish speculator insolvent, but the market’s behavior is actually pretty typical, if not rational, says Dr. Shilling.
—Spencer Jakab, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2022
Marc Goldwein, a budget expert at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said the jump could move up the date at which Social Security is projected to become an insolvent by as much as a year, to 2032.
—BostonGlobe.com, 14 Oct. 2021
In 1995, a rogue trader at Barings, Nick Leeson, lost over $1 billion, rendering the 300-year-old bank insolvent.
—Antoine Gara, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2021
Adjective
Neither candidate is offering something which has a snowball's chance of passing Congress, and yet Social Security will become insolvent in about eight years.
—Nbc Universal, NBC News, 17 Mar. 2024
Two-thirds of the league’s teams were effectively insolvent, their liabilities dwarfing their assets.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2024
But far from providing closure, the order — the first by a Hong Court regarding the winding up of such a large Chinese company — raised a host of questions about the future of the sprawling business and other insolvent developers.
—Anna Cooban, CNN, 2 Feb. 2024
Those losses, when combined with earlier write-offs because of higher interest rates, could make 482 banks with $1.4 trillion assets effectively insolvent.
—Aldo Svaldi, The Denver Post, 4 Jan. 2024
Bankruptcy is often the only option for floundering companies with costly leases, as U.S. law enables insolvent firms to shed cumbersome contracts that are hard to cancel otherwise.
—Ethan M Steinberg, Fortune, 7 Nov. 2023
British phone manufacturer Bullitt Group reportedly shut down on Jan. 26 after reports swirled earlier this month that the company was insolvent.
—Kate Irwin, PCMAG, 31 Jan. 2024
The new financial obligations were intended to act as a safety net for taxpayers in the event oil and gas companies become insolvent and cannot pay to plug wells.
—Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2023
The Real Deal obtained a financial report revealing that without RSA’s help — in the form of $655,000 in cash infusions so far — the organization would likely have become insolvent.
—Curbed, 5 Dec. 2023
Noun
Unfortunately, this made the bank insolvent, and a bank run ensued.
—Zain Jaffer, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024
In January, another one of DCG’s main subsidiaries, Genesis, declared its lending unit insolvent, and froze the assets of hundreds of thousands of customers.
—Jeff John Roberts, Fortune Crypto, 17 Aug. 2023
According to the latest report by Social Security's trustees, those surplus assets will be depleted and Social Security insolvent by 2033.
—Russ Wiles, The Arizona Republic, 16 July 2023
By then, the Bank of England had declared SVB UK insolvent.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 18 Mar. 2023
That forced the bank to sell a chunk of its bonds at a steep loss, and the pace of those withdrawals accelerated as word spread, effectively rendering Silicon Valley Bank insolvent.
—Christopher Rugaber, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Mar. 2023
Actively betting that the spring meltdown would continue could well have left a bearish speculator insolvent, but the market’s behavior is actually pretty typical, if not rational, says Dr. Shilling.
—Spencer Jakab, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2022
Marc Goldwein, a budget expert at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said the jump could move up the date at which Social Security is projected to become an insolvent by as much as a year, to 2032.
—BostonGlobe.com, 14 Oct. 2021
In 1995, a rogue trader at Barings, Nick Leeson, lost over $1 billion, rendering the 300-year-old bank insolvent.
—Antoine Gara, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'insolvent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Insolvent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/insolvent. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
insolvent
adjective
in·sol·vent
(ˈ)in-ˈsäl-vənt
: not having or providing enough money to pay debts
an insolvent company
Legal Definition
insolvent
adjective
in·sol·vent
in-ˈsäl-vənt
1
: having ceased paying or unable to pay debts as they fall due in the usual course of business compare bankrupt
2
: having liabilities in excess of a reasonable market value of assets held
3
: insufficient to pay all debts
an insolvent estate
insolvent
noun
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