Meaning & use
inflationary
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Meaning
adjectivenot comparable
Causing or relating to a general rise in prices and a fall in the value of money.
Grammar: Used before a noun (inflationary pressures) or after a linking verb (the situation became inflationary). Not usually used with more/most.
Patterns
- inflationary pressure
- inflationary spiral
- inflationary expectations
- become inflationary
The government is worried about inflationary pressure from rising energy costs.
Higher wages can create an inflationary spiral if companies pass the costs on to customers.
The report warned that the economy was entering an inflationary period.
Common combinations
- inflationary pressure
- There is strong inflationary pressure in the housing market.
- inflationary spiral
- Without action, the country could fall into an inflationary spiral.
- inflationary expectations
- Central banks watch inflationary expectations closely.
- inflationary gap
- An inflationary gap occurs when demand outruns supply.
Synonyms and how they differ
- inflationary
- There is no exact single-word synonym; inflationary is the standard term.
- price-raising
- A plain descriptive alternative, but less precise and not used in formal economics.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: inflationary or inflated?
inflationary vs inflated
Inflated means swollen or too high (inflated prices); inflationary means causing general price rises.
Practice
The central bank raised interest rates to reduce ______ pressure.
Choose one answer.
Inflationary is the adjective that collocates with pressure to mean pressure that pushes prices up. Inflated describes something already too high, inflation is a noun and cannot modify pressure directly here, and inflating is a verb form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “inflationary”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.