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
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 
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Cite this Entry
“Stagflation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stagflation. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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