stagflation
noun
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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
Paul Matzko / Made By History, TIME, 29 Dec. 2024
On the domestic front, in addition to stagflation and recession, Carter had to deal with the Love Canal ecological disaster in Niagara Falls, New York, which led to the creation of the environmental Superfund.
—Marty Steinberg, CNBC, 29 Dec. 2024
Related article Americans may have to actually brace for stagflation with Trump tariffs
But wait — wasn’t Trump’s win supposed to be the Holy Grail igniting Wall Street for the next four years with tax cuts and deregulation galore?
—Elisabeth Buchwald and David Goldman, CNN, 19 Dec. 2024
The path to stagflation The tariffs Trump has floated aren’t inherently inflationary, Michael Feroli, chief US economist at JPMorgan, told CNN.
—Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN, 17 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Stagflation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stagflation. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
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