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.

Examples of stagflation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Analysts have even started to bandy about predictions of stagflation. —

Paolo Confino, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2024 Carter was elected president in 1976 but saw his presidency marred by continuing stagflation and the Iran hostage crisis. —

Jack Birle, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 16 Oct. 2024 The economy went through stagflation, a period of double-digit inflation, high unemployment, and low growth, for almost a decade, to which the most prominent economists of the time had no idea how to solve. —

Vuk Vukovic, TIME, 10 Oct. 2024 The Wall Street veteran sounded the alarm on stagflation regardless of the November election outcome. —

Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for stagflation

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stagflation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.