What does devaluated mean?
"Devaluated" is the past tense and past participle of "devaluate," meaning to reduce the value of something — most often a nation's currency — or to diminish its worth more generally. In economics, when a country devaluates its money under a fixed exchange-rate regime, its currency becomes cheaper against others, typically making exports more competitive but raising the price of imports. Beyond finance, the word can describe anything whose perceived quality or significance has been lowered, such as credentials diluted by oversupply or artistic work cheapened by imitation. Though perfectly correct, "devaluated" is markedly less common than "devalued," which most writers prefer. It belongs chiefly to formal economic and analytical prose, and it derives from Latin valere, meaning "to be strong or worth."
verbPast tense and past participle of "devaluate": to reduce or cause something, especially currency or assets, to lose value; a less common variant of "devalued."
- To have reduced the official value of a currency relative to other currencies.
- To have caused something's worth, quality, or status to be diminished or made to seem less important.
"The government devaluated the currency in an effort to boost exports."
"After the crisis, the central bank devaluated the currency by nearly twenty percent."
"Critics argued that mass production had devaluated traditional craftsmanship."
While everyone says "devalued," economists occasionally reach for "devaluated" — a word so rare that even spellcheckers raise an eyebrow.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of devaluated
The word combines the prefix "de-" with "valuate," from Latin valere, meaning "to be strong, be well, or be of worth." The related noun "valuation" entered English from Latin valere via French in the medieval period, and "evaluate" followed in the nineteenth century. "Devaluate" arose as a variant of "devalue," itself formed in English from "de-" plus "value." Cognates sharing this Latin root include "valid," "invalid," and "valor," all carrying the core sense of worth or strength.
Related word forms
How devaluated is actually used
"Devaluated" is considerably less common than "devalued," which is the preferred form of the verb "devalue" in both British and American English. It appears mainly in economic, financial, and academic writing. The form is fully standard but stylistically marked as formal.
Easily confused with devaluated
"Devalued" is the standard, far more common past tense of "devalue," while "devaluated" is a rarer variant formed from "devaluate" that carries the same meaning.
"Devastated" means destroyed or emotionally overwhelmed, whereas "devaluated" refers only to a reduction in monetary or figurative worth.