countercyclical

adjective

coun·​ter·​cy·​cli·​cal ˌkau̇n-tər-ˈsī-kli-kəl How to pronounce countercyclical (audio)
-ˈsi-
: calculated to check excessive developments in a business cycle : compensatory
countercyclical budget policies
countercyclically adverb

Examples of countercyclical in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web What’s individually rational is collectively destructive, and hence governments may need to step in to reverse the slide with countercyclical policies. Jacob S. Hacker, Foreign Affairs, 21 Mar. 2016 What Goodwill sells on its site is limited to donations, which are generally countercyclical. Jordyn Holman, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2023 This raised speculation that the PBOC has reintroduced the countercyclical factor into Tuesday's fixing, HSBC foreign-exchange strategist Jingyang Chen said. WSJ, 27 June 2023 After all, some industries are countercyclical: dollar and discount stores do well in a recession. Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, Forbes, 21 Apr. 2023 Joelle, is the lesson here that Keynesian economics, in terms of public investment priming the pump in countercyclical times, works? How To Save A Country, The New Republic, 1 Dec. 2022 The countercyclical factor—the calculation of which remains a mystery to market participants—gives the central bank a heavier hand in setting the daily fixing. Rebecca Feng, WSJ, 28 Sep. 2022 Finally, in times of stress, a CBDC might be considered as a safe refuge which would also lead to a countercyclical reduction in deposits of banks. Jason Brett, Forbes, 25 June 2022 Whether overconfidence or hardheaded realism are responsible for the tepid countercyclical response, the likely result is the same: an extended period of subpar Chinese growth, beginning with a steep downturn this quarter. Nathaniel Taplin, WSJ, 17 May 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'countercyclical.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of countercyclical was in 1944

Dictionary Entries Near countercyclical

Cite this Entry

“Countercyclical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/countercyclical. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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