misery index

noun

an unofficial indication of a nation's economic health, derived by adding the percentage rate of inflation to the percentage of unemployed workers: With inflation running at 15 percent and unemployment at 8 percent, the misery index is 23 percent.

Word Lookups From Obama’s Farewell Speech President Barack Obama’s second and final term is at an end. He gave his farewell speech Tuesday January 10 in Chicago, the city that launched his rise to national prominence. Word choices and speech patterns of our world leaders are a constant source of discussion (and comedy skits), as every administration has a style and at least one tic. Long known as an effective public …

Nearby words

miserable, miserere, misericord, miserly, misery, misery index, misery loves company, misesteem, misestimate, misfeasance, misfeasor

Origin of misery index

First recorded in 1975–80