inflationary spiral

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Word: Inflationary Spiral

Definition: An "inflationary spiral" is a situation where prices for goods and services keep going up, and at the same time, wages (the money people earn) also increase. This cycle can happen quickly, causing the value of money to decrease rapidly, meaning that people will need more money to buy the same things.

Usage Instructions:

• Part of Speech: Noun
• How to Use: You can use "inflationary spiral" when talking about economic situations where both prices and wages are rising together, leading to a loss of money's value.

Example:

• "During the economic crisis, the country experienced an inflationary spiral, making it difficult for people to afford basic necessities."

Advanced Usage:

• In economic discussions, you might encounter phrases like "the risk of an inflationary spiral" when talking about policies that could lead to this situation. Economists analyze how different factors contribute to an inflationary spiral.

Word Variants:

• Inflation: The general increase in prices and decline in the purchasing value of money.
• Deflation: The opposite of inflation, where prices decrease and the value of money increases.
• Stagflation: A situation where inflation occurs alongside stagnation in economic growth.

Different Meanings:

• The word "spiral" can also refer to a shape that winds around a central point, like a spiral staircase. In this context, it means a continuous cycle that becomes more severe.

Synonyms:

• Price escalation
• Wage-price spiral

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs:

• "Caught in a trap": This can describe a situation where individuals or economies feel stuck in a cycle of rising costs and wages, similar to an inflationary spiral.
• "To spiral out of control": This means to become worse rapidly, which can describe the situation of an inflationary spiral.

Academic

Noun

1. an episode of inflation in which prices and wages increase at an increasing rate and currency rapidly loses value