devalue
Americanverb (used with object)
-
devalues,
present (3rd person singular)
-
devalued,
past participle, past
-
devaluing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
devalues,
present (3rd person singular)
-
devalued,
past participle, past
-
devaluing
present participle
verb
-
to reduce (a currency) or (of a currency) be reduced in exchange value
-
(tr) to reduce the value or worth of (something)
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
devaluesimple
-
devaluessimple
-
have devaluedperfect
-
has devaluedperfect
-
am devaluingprogressive
-
are devaluingprogressive
-
is devaluingprogressive
-
have been devaluingperfect progressive
-
has been devaluingperfect progressive
Past
-
devaluedsimple
-
had devaluedperfect
-
was devaluingprogressive
-
were devaluingprogressive
-
had been devaluingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of devalue
Explanation
When you make something less valuable or less important, you devalue it. You might devalue your car by spray painting it black and letting your dog chew the upholstery. Economists and business reporters often use the verb devalue when they talk about the currency — or money — of different countries, and what it's worth in comparison to other currencies. Sometimes countries will devalue their currency, for example, to get more people to buy their exported products. But you can also devalue a relationship by neglecting it, or devalue a diamond ring by chipping it. Devaluation came before devalue, with a Latin root of valere, "be strong or be of value."
Vocabulary lists containing devalue
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“What we want to do is defend against anything that would devalue the elections process,” Logan said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
“I don’t want to devalue our core offering.”
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 11, 2026
If Washington and Tokyo were to team up to devalue the dollar and prop up the yen, there could be benefits for both sides.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
“The government would like to increase competitiveness rather than devalue the currency.”
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2025
When France needed to devalue its currency, for example, they told the IMF in advance.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Holt believes the fact the CIA bankrolled Giaka devalues him as an informant.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Wars are financed by borrowing and printing money which devalues debt and fiat currency.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 16, 2026
If AI devalues knowledge, it undermines the US equity market’s advantage and its S&P 500’s 21x forward earnings.
From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026
Many Hollywood professionals will tell you not to take unpaid gigs, as it devalues your work and the industry itself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2025
He idealizes his beaus and then devalues them.
From Moral Deliberations in Modern Cinema by Samuel Vaknin
It said it devalued parks and gardens and "makes them vulnerable to poorly informed development".
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Over time, Strategy issued far more Stretch shares, even as its bitcoin holdings devalued.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
But when your points are devalued, your transfer ratio can suddenly become something like 4 to 3.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
When asked to elaborate on his problems with radio hits, he said that songwriters have been devalued.
From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2026
Now I’ve pulled that ace out of the hole, taken a good look, and found that it’s useless to me, devalued over time.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
A recent survey from Resume.com showed that 41% of workers believed AI was replacing, devaluing or overlapping with parts of their jobs.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
With financial markets devaluing software companies and their debts, the fund marked down some of its software loans, and reduced its portfolio’s net asset value by 1.8% for the quarter, to $19.59 a share.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
Though there’s never one reason a business closes, some industry observers and art fans have cited the rise in AI-generated content potentially devaluing original art overall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026
You can’t make fun of the people devaluing art by scrolling on their phone, watching movies at home, and then play artists off the stage before they can even say a word.
From Salon ● Mar. 16, 2026
Many Ghanaians responded positively to Ablakwa's post, but some accused the government of "devaluing" the country's passport by handing them to foreign celebrities.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2026
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
