inflation
/ɪnˈfleɪʃən/noun
mass noun
1
- the action of inflating something or the condition of being inflated充气; 膨胀, 增大：
the inflation of a balloon
气球充气
the gross inflation of salaries.
工资的总增长。
1.1
- Astronomy (in some theories of cosmology) a very brief exponential expansion of the universe postulated to have interrupted the standard linear expansion shortly after the big bang【天文】（宇宙论某些理论）暴涨。
2
- Economics a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money【经济】通货膨胀：
policies aimed at controlling inflation
旨在控制通货膨胀的政策
as modifier high inflation rates.高通货膨胀率。
派生词
inflationism
nouninflationist
noun & adjective词源
Middle English （in the sense 'the condition of being inflated with a gas'）: from Latin inflatio（n-）, from inflare 'blow in to' （see INFLATE）. Sense 2 dates from the mid 19th cent.