Skip to main content
inflation

inflation

424 3.8
A general rise in prices that makes money buy less
  • noun
  • /ɪnˈfleɪʃən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : inflación
  • People think of inflation as prices going up.
  • inflation rate
  • control inflation
  • high inflation

Slowly we we will see inflation go down.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Thus, data adjusted to control for inflation and converted to a common currency are desired.

    Academic text (1990)
  • My pay can't possibly keep up with inflation.

  • Can you explain how inflation got so high?

  • Just remember that inflation is a tax.

  • We have to find a way to hold down the inflation rate and reduce the deficit.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • I forgot to adjust for inflation.

  • Bailey said bringing inflation down is our absolute priority.

  • With nearly 18 million new jobs, wages rising at more than twice the rate of inflation.

  • Interest rates were fixed well below the rate of inflation from 1973 to 1983.

    Academic text (1999)
  • The high rate of inflation has made everyday goods unaffordable for many families.

Synonyms

price increase
vsinflation
25 2.0

A rise in the money you pay for things or services

is a broad continual growth across the economy that reduces money's buying power
rising prices
vsinflation
7 2.8

Higher costs for things and services over time

is a broad continual growth across the economy that reduces money's buying power
rise in prices
vsinflation
2 3.1

An increase in the amount of money people pay for goods or services

is a broad continual growth across the economy that reduces money's buying power

Antonyms

deflation
  • Specialized
24 6.3

A fall in the general level of prices in an economy

Compounds

inflation rate
  • Specialized
15 3.7

The percent that shows how much prices for things and services rise over time

The percentage by which prices for goods and services rise over time

cost-pull inflation
  • Specialized
7.0

A rise in general prices caused by higher production costs like wages and raw materials

demand-pull inflation
  • Specialized
7.7

A rise in prices when people want to buy more things than before

inflation therapy
  • Specialized
8.0

A medical treatment that puts liquid, oxygen, or medicine into the airways to help breathing

How Severe

hyperinflation
  • Specialized
25 7.3
inflation
  • Specialized
424 3.8

Surface Forms

inflation singular
inflations plural

Morphology

inflation = inflate (semi-transparent) = inflate + ion

The economic meaning is a metaphorical extension from 'make larger/increase' to 'general rise in prices', so it's inferable but requires awareness of the metaphor and economic usage.

Etymology

Inflation comes from the Latin parts in- ('into') and flare ('to blow'), and you can remember prices being 'blown up' like a balloon — they get bigger and money buys less, which is why inflation means a general rise in prices.