stagflation

noun

stag·fla·tion ˌstag-ˈflā-shən

: persistent inflation combined with stagnant consumer demand and relatively high unemployment

stagflationary

ˌstag-ˈflā-shə-ˌner-ē

adjective

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Stagflation is a portmanteau, that is, a word that blends two others (in this case, "stagnation" and "inflation"). The first documented use of the word appeared in 1965 in the writing of British politician Iain Macleod, who wrote, "We now have the worst of both worlds - not just inflation on the one side or stagnation on the other, but both of them together. We have a sort of 'stagflation' situation." Macleod is often credited with coining the term, and his linguistic invention was quickly embraced by economists in the United States, who used it to refer to the period of economic sluggishness and high inflation that affected the country in the 1970s.

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Are there any companies immune from tariffs and the general gloom resulting from the rising risk of stagflation? —Peter Cohan, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025 Negative impacts from President Donald Trump’s intensifying global trade war could include stagflation and an even more drastic drawdown in the stock market, according to Torsten Slok, Apollo Global Management’s chief economist. —Yun Li, CNBC, 5 Apr. 2025 The firm expects up to a year of stagflation from the tariffs. —Josh Fellman, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2025 But many economists are taking a different view, warning that the tariffs could lead to more dire economic scenarios, including a recession or stagflation. —Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for stagflation