devalue
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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to reduce (a currency) or (of a currency) be reduced in exchange value
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(tr) to reduce the value or worth of (something)
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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devaluesimple
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devaluessimple
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have devaluedperfect
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has devaluedperfect
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am devaluingprogressive
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are devaluingprogressive
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is devaluingprogressive
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have been devaluingperfect progressive
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has been devaluingperfect progressive
Past
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devaluedsimple
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had devaluedperfect
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was devaluingprogressive
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were devaluingprogressive
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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:
Schools can institute an ‘adjusted GPA’ to devalue A’s when they are too numerous.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
Concerns that AI might devalue cyber companies triggered a broad selloff in cyber stock prices earlier this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
No one, especially not your second husband of three years, gets to devalue or judge your relationship with your kids.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 22, 2026
Markets have long been concerned that China would devalue its currency in response to tariffs, says Brooks.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2025
If pennies become worthless, does that devalue our thoughts to less than nothing?
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
"When it is so easy to create simple apps, like a habit tracker or a quiz, it devalues them," Goldberg says.
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 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
But if you view it as the last stage of Ripley’s career trajectory on the payroll of a company that devalues human life, the movie translates as elegiac.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2025
He idealizes his beaus and then devalues them.
From Moral Deliberations in Modern Cinema by Vaknin, Samuel
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
He said Article 4 unfairly gave away control over "what you do with your property" and had devalued his house.
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2026
To cover its budget deficits, the regime in Tehran has devalued its currency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 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
There’s a tidal change happening in youth culture that is tied to inaccessibility, a response to the devaluing of making art, that’s exciting to see.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 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
This means more software can be produced at a new very low cost, devaluing current enterprise software makers, or even replacing them altogether.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
"I think as British people we're very good at piercing the balloon of our own success and undercutting it and devaluing ourselves," he tells BBC News.
From BBC ● Feb. 4, 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.
