hyperinflation

[hahy-per-in-fley-shuhn]

noun

1. extreme or excessive inflation.

hyperinflation

/ ˌhaɪpəɪnˈfleɪʃən /

noun

1. Also called: galloping inflation. extremely high inflation, usually over 50 per cent per month, often involving social disorder

Other Word Forms

• hyperinflationary adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hyperinflation¹

First recorded in 1925–30; hyper- + inflation

Example Sentences

Now, their wallets are ever thinner as a return to hyperinflation looms.

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For Torrealba, hyperinflation is official once prices rise by more than 50 percent for three consecutive months.

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But definitions vary, and for other experts an annual rate of 500 percent, such as predicted by the IMF, already amounts to hyperinflation.

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All of that, alongside wild fiscal and monetary mismanagement, set off hyperinflation, chronic shortages and widespread misery.

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Mnangagwa, who ousted long-time ruler Robert Mugabe, has presided over a collapsing economy that has suffered hyperinflation and unemployment, undermined by alleged corruption and cronyism.

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Related Words

• devaluation