devaluation

[dee-val-yoo-ey-shuh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR devaluation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an official lowering of the exchange value of a country's currency relative to gold or other currencies.

a reduction of a value, status, etc.

Origin of devaluation

First recorded in 1910–15; devaluate + -ion

Related formsmin·i·de·val·u·a·tion, nounpost·de·val·u·a·tion, adjectivepre·de·val·u·a·tion, noun, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for devaluation

decline, reduction, decrease, write-down, markdown

Examples from the Web for devaluation

Contemporary Examples of devaluation

It does no good to goose your manufacturing exports with a devaluation if your manufacturers can't buy raw materials.
Euro Crisis: Reheated
Megan McArdle
February 27, 2013
Exporters would presumably like that, since it will lead to a devaluation of the shekel.
Fischer King Departs
Bernard Avishai
January 31, 2013
Inflation in the high-growth economies will change the relative real wages between the counties the same way a devaluation can.
Countdown to Euro Crack-Up
David Frum
May 31, 2012
Casting him as a Muslim is a convenient—and provocative—form of devaluation in a society which is fearful of Muslims in general.
Ignorant America
Tunku Varadarajan
August 30, 2010
Unexpected turns in suburban desperation, deception and devaluation.
This Week's Hot Reads
The Daily Beast
June 30, 2010

Historical Examples of devaluation

Then the day after devaluation, we switch it all back into dollars again.
The Common Man
Guy McCord (AKA Dallas McCord Reynolds)
Rouble inflation will not fully reflect the devaluation for a long time.
After the Rain
Sam Vaknin
They erected defensive barricades of self-aggrandizement and of my devaluation.
After the Rain
Sam Vaknin
Avoid contentions, divisions and animosities, which too frequently terminate in bloodshed and devaluation.
Dr. Stearns's Tour from London to Paris
Samuel Stearns

British Dictionary definitions for devaluation

devaluation

noun

a decrease in the exchange value of a currency against gold or other currencies, brought about by a governmentCompare depreciation (def. 4)

a reduction in value, status, importance, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for devaluation

1898; see de- + valuation. Specific application to currency is from 1914.

devaluation in Culture

devaluation

A policy undertaken by a nation to reduce the value of its national currency either in relation to gold or in relation to the currencies of other nations.