greedflation
/ˈɡriːdˌfleɪʃən/
CommonInflation driven by corporations raising prices beyond their actual cost increases to boost profits.
Has genuine economic backing and serious detractors. Online use treats it as established fact. Worth noting the economic debate is real, but on social media the term is almost always used as an accusation.
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | record corporate profits while we're told it's just inflation, greedflation is real | Companies are posting earnings growth that contradicts the 'we're just passing on costs' narrative. | x, 2023 |
| 02 | supply chains are fixed and prices are still up, that's greedflation not supply chain issues | Prices remaining high after the original cause resolved points to profit-driven increases. | reddit, 2024 |
| 03 | grocery store near me just posted a 40% profit increase, so i'm done calling this inflation, it's greedflation | Local or corporate profit data makes the speaker skeptical of the cost-driven explanation. | tiktok, 2023 |
| 04 | economists can debate greedflation all they want, my rent went up $400 and nobody's wages went up | Whatever the academic debate, the real-world experience points to exploitation. | x, 2024 |
Use it when
- Corporate profits are rising while blaming inflation for price increases.
- Prices kept rising even after supply chain issues resolved.
- Arguing that companies exploited the inflation environment.
Do not use it when
- A specific product got smaller without a price change.Use “shrinkflation” instead.
- A single company raised prices opportunistically in a crisis.Use “price-gouging” instead.
Greedflation vs shrinkflation
greedflation
Greedflation is about prices going up driven by profit expansion.
shrinkflation
Shrinkflation is about product quantity decreasing while price holds steady.
Origin and context
Portmanteau of 'greed' and 'inflation.' Gained wide use in 2022-2023 as economists like Isabella Weber published research arguing that corporate pricing behavior contributed to the post-COVID inflation surge beyond what supply chains alone could explain.
- First seen
- 2020s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/greedflation