stagflation

/ˌstæɡˈfleɪʃn̩/

//ˌstæɡˈfleɪʃn̩// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"stagflation" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stagflation” is uncommon English (frequency #86,788 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#86,788
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Prolonged high inflation accompanied by stagnant growth, often with recession and high unemployment.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stagflation · stagflation · English

stagflation · rank #86,788 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #86,788
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Sriram

Nearest frequency peer: Sriram (-2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “stagflation”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “stagflation” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for stagflation
PropertyValue
Headwordstagflation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌstæɡˈfleɪʃn̩/
Letters11
Frequency rank#86,788
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “stagflation” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).stagflationfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Sriram” (#86,786), “Stanly” (#86,790), “starbase” (#86,791). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stagflation” is #86,788. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

stagflation is uncommon English at frequency #86,788 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌstæɡˈfleɪʃn̩/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Prolonged high inflation accompanied by stagnant growth, often with recession and high unemployment.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for stagflation, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Blend of stagnation + inflation, generally thought to have been coined by the British politician Iain Macleod (1913–1970) in a 17 November 1965 parliamentary speech: see the quotation. The correct English form is stagflation, spelled S-T-A-G-F-L-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Prolonged high inflation accompanied by stagnant growth, often with recession and high unemployment.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how stagflation appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. We now have the worst of both worlds—not just inflation on the one side or stagnation on the other, but both of them together. We have a sort of "stagflation" situation and history in modern terms is indeed being made. There is another point behind the figures. As I say, production has fallen by 1 per cent. or ½ per cent.
  2. As soon as we understand how involuntary unemployment can result from rational and well-informed individual behavior, it also becomes obvious how inflation and unemployment—which we once thought could not occur simultaneously—can be combined, as they have been in the recent stagflation.

Etymology

Blend of stagnation + inflation, generally thought to have been coined by the British politician Iain Macleod (1913–1970) in a 17 November 1965 parliamentary speech: see the quotation.

This word in other languages

estanflación(Español)stagflation(Français)Stagflation(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "stagflation"?
"stagflation" is spelled S-T-A-G-F-L-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌstæɡˈfleɪʃn̩/.
What does "stagflation" mean?
As a noun, "stagflation" means: Prolonged high inflation accompanied by stagnant growth, often with recession and high unemployment.
How do you pronounce "stagflation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stagflation" is /ˌstæɡˈfleɪʃn̩/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "stagflation"?
Blend of stagnation + inflation, generally thought to have been coined by the British politician Iain Macleod (1913–1970) in a 17 November 1965 parliamentary speech: see the quotation. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "stagflation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

synchronise#86,824technocracy#86,838Schlossberg#86,731uncertainly#86,890

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list