Origin: Latin suffix -tion
Inflation has 5 different meanings across 1 category:
a general and progressive increase in prices
"in inflation everything gets more valuable except money"
(cosmology) a brief exponential expansion of the universe (faster than the speed of light) postulated to have occurred shortly after the big bang
"Cosmic inflation theory suggests that a fraction of a second after the Big Bang, space itself underwent a rapid exponential expansion faster than the speed of light."
lack of elegance as a consequence of being pompous and puffed up with vanity
"His speech was marked by inflation, sounding grandiose yet utterly devoid of genuine charm due to his excessive self-importance."
the act of filling something with air
"He carefully inflated the balloon before blowing it up again."
An act, instance of, or state of expansion or increase in size, especially by injection of a gas.
"The dentist pumped air into the tire to demonstrate how inflation causes it to expand."
In plain English: Inflation is when prices for things go up over time, so your money buys less than it used to.
"The recent rise in inflation has made groceries much more expensive for families."
Usage: In economics, inflation specifically refers to the general rise in prices and fall in purchasing power rather than physical swelling. Use this term when discussing currency value changes instead of describing literal objects expanding with air.
The word inflation comes from Old French and Latin, where it originally meant "swelling" or "blowing up." It is derived from the Latin verb inflare, which combines "in" (into) and "flare" (to blow).