Several of the 1,700 new or updated definitions Dictionary.com added to its online catalogue of terms on Thursday were inspired by recent news events.
"Climate breakdown" was identified by the website as "the collective effects of harmful and potentially irreversible trends in climate, specifically those resulting from unchecked global warming," while "energy poverty" is "a lack of adequate access to safe, affordable sources of electricity or fuel for warmth, light, cooking, etc."
Another, "greedflation," was informed by growing evidence that has shown in recent years how rising prices are not always the result of supply chain woes or other market pressures, but can be "caused by corporate executives or boards of directors, property owners, etc., solely to increase profits that are already healthy or excessive."
The dictionary's addition of the word, said economic justice think tank Groundwork Collaborative, solidifies "its place in how we understand" recent inflation.
As Common Dreamsreported last month, a Groundwork analysis showed that corporate CEOs have "openly" bragged to their shareholders that they can continue raising prices to increase profits, even as the cost of doing business goes down.
According to the group, corporate profits were what drove 53% of price increases in the second and third quarters of 2023. Business costs rose just 1% in 2023—and went down in some sectors due to drops in transportation, warehousing, and fuel costs—but consumers saw the price of goods go up by 3.4% in the same time period.
Recent polling—and Dictionary.com's word addition—shows a growing understanding of greedflation among the public.
A Navigator Research survey showed on Wednesday that 4 in 5 people believe inflation is being caused by corporations raising prices, and 3 in 5 say greedflation is a "major" cause.
"So many people recognize that corporations are keeping prices artificially high that 'greedflation' is now a word on dictionary.com," said Lindsay Owens, executive director of Groundwork. "Greedflation rightly identifies who is responsible for this inflation crisis and opens up the range of policy solutions we have at our disposal to fight high prices and deliver relief for families."
Republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
