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devaluation

[dee-val-yoo-ey-shuh n]
See more synonyms for devaluation on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an official lowering of the exchange value of a country's currency relative to gold or other currencies.
  2. a reduction of a value, status, etc.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for devaluation

Contemporary Examples

  • 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

  • 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.

British Dictionary definitions for devaluation

devaluation

noun
  1. a decrease in the exchange value of a currency against gold or other currencies, brought about by a governmentCompare depreciation (def. 4)
  2. a reduction in value, status, importance, etc
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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

n.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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.

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.