devalue

[ dee-val-yoo ]

verb (used with object)

, de·val·ued, de·val·u·ing.

1. to deprive of value; reduce the value of.
2. to fix a lower value on (a currency).

verb (used without object)

, de·val·ued, de·val·u·ing.

1. to undergo devaluation:

   The currency has devalued at a rapid rate.

devalue

/ diːˈvæljuː; diːˈvæljuːˌeɪt /

verb

1. to reduce (a currency) or (of a currency) be reduced in exchange value
2. tr to reduce the value or worth of (something)

Word History and Origins

Origin of devalue¹

First recorded in 1915–20; de- + value

Example Sentences

Instead of rebuilding a new economy after the Civil War, the South simply devalued the labor previously performed by enslaved people, whether in the fields or within the home.

From Vox

The flip side is that our regular season would have been devalued if our teams didn’t have to compete.

From Washington Post

They’re also the back-of-house positions most likely to be held by women, whose work is often devalued by male chefs.

From Eater

Swift promised she would rerecord all of her older albums so she would fully own them, therefore devaluing Braun’s purchase.

From Washington Post

To understand the way that we have devalued women’s work is really to understand that we’ve expected women to do so much for free over hundreds and hundreds of years.

From Time

Boys are taught early in life to devalue care, to be hyper-competitive, super-achieving men.

From The Daily Beast

In its place came something which, striving to fuse Urdu and Telugu, seemed to devalue both.

From The Daily Beast

Rosen undoubtedly did not intend to devalue women with her comments.

From The Daily Beast

We devalue the significance of memory in order to cope with the fact that our gadgets are now better at it than we are.

From The Daily Beast

They propose that we pressure China to improve its human-rights policy, or to get tougher on Iran, or to devalue its currency.

From The Daily Beast

These people devalue the source of their frustration and envy.

From Project Gutenberg

If they really decide to devalue, then Whitely and me, we go ahead and put every cent we got into Swiss gold.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• decrease
• devaluate
• lower
• revalue
• undervalue