stagflation
noun
Did you know?
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.
Examples of stagflation in a Sentence
Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 10 Jan. 2025
The malaise of the 1970s, marked by stagflation, social unrest, and defeats in Vietnam and Iran, eventually gave way to a resurgence in economic and military strength, a Cold War victory, and the tech boom of the 1990s.
—Michael Beckley, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
The horrendous stagflation of the period—three straight years of double-digit inflation, 1979-81, as a recession occurred—met its match, on the inflation side, the argument runs, because Volcker’s Fed beat down inflation in the Ronald Reagan 1980s.
—Brian Domitrovic, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
Now, fully 84% of respondents believe the economy is headed for a soft landing, while only 10% expect a significant recession, and only 6% expect stagflation.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian, TIME, 23 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for stagflation 
Articles Related to stagflation
Dictionary Entries Near stagflation
Cite this Entry
“Stagflation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stagflation. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share