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# deflation

«deflation» in Mova's school dictionary: **Letting the air or gas out of something, so it gets…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (deflation; uncountable)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Letting the air or gas out of something, so it gets smaller and softer: «the deflation of a tyre». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deflation/#m1)

2) (economics, money) A general fall in prices in a country over time, the opposite of inflation. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deflation/#m2)

3) A sudden feeling of disappointment or loss of confidence: «a sense of deflation after the match». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deflation/#m3)

4) (sport) A cheating scandal in which footballs were said to be under-inflated («Deflategate», USA). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deflation/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In science lessons on air and pressure, deflating balloons, balls and bouncy castles shows that air takes up space. In money and economics lessons, pupils learn that inflation (prices rising) is more common, while deflation (prices falling) can sound good but may mean businesses earn less and people lose jobs. In stories, characters feel deflated after bad news. Phrases: «tyre deflation», «a period of deflation», «a sense of deflation».

### examples

- The slow deflation of the bouncy castle meant the party was over. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deflation/#x1)
- Deflation means prices go down across a whole country. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deflation/#x2)
- Japan had years of deflation in the 1990s and 2000s. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deflation/#x3)
- After losing the final, the team felt a great deflation. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deflation/#x4)
- The bike tyre's deflation was caused by a tiny nail. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deflation/#x5)
- Economists worry about deflation as much as about inflation. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deflation/#x6)

### note

Uncountable. Verb: «deflate» (deflate, deflated, deflating); adjective: «deflated» (let down or disappointed). Opposite: inflation. Trap: in maths, if deflation is 2% a year, a £100 basket of shopping costs about £98 a year later; under inflation of 2% it would cost £102.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «deflation» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deflation/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.