inflate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
inflates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
inflated,
past participle, past
-
inflating
present participle
-
to distend; swell or puff out; dilate.
The king cobra inflates its hood.
- Antonyms:
- deflate
-
to cause to expand or distend with air or gas.
to inflate a balloon.
-
to puff up with pride, satisfaction, etc.
-
to elate.
-
Economics. to expand (money, prices, an economy, etc.) unduly in amount, value, or size; affect with inflation.
verb (used without object)
-
inflates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
inflated,
past participle, past
-
inflating
present participle
-
to become inflated.
-
to increase, especially suddenly and substantially.
The $10 subscription has inflated to $25.
verb
-
to expand or cause to expand by filling with gas or air
she needed to inflate the tyres
-
(tr) to cause to increase excessively; puff up; swell
to inflate one's opinion of oneself
-
(tr) to cause inflation of (prices, money, etc)
-
(tr) to raise in spirits; elate
-
(intr) to undergo economic inflation
Synonym Usage
See expand.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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inflatednessnoun
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inflaternoun
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inflatornoun
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reinflateverb
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overinflateverb (used with object)
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inflatedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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inflatesimple
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inflatessimple
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have inflatedperfect
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has inflatedperfect
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am inflatingprogressive
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are inflatingprogressive
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is inflatingprogressive
-
have been inflatingperfect progressive
-
has been inflatingperfect progressive
Past
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inflatedsimple
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had inflatedperfect
-
was inflatingprogressive
-
were inflatingprogressive
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had been inflatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of inflate
First recorded in 1500–20; from Latin inflātus, past participle of inflāre “to blow on or into, puff out,” equivalent to in- in- 2 + flā- blow 2 + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
Using your own breath or an air pump, you can inflate a balloon — or anything else you need to pump air into. When you inflate something you fill it with air (or any other gas) to make it expand. From the Latin verb inflāre, "to blow into," the word inflate appeared in English in the early 16th century. Although we usually think of the word inflate as referring to blowing air or gas into a balloon or a tire, anything that grows larger, from food prices to an egoist's self-image, can be inflated. When an item becomes scarce, its price is likely to be inflated.
Vocabulary lists containing inflate
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
An independent commission found that, during that time period, the club arranged "sham contracts" as well as "relying on sham agreements to artificially inflate the club's revenues and reduce its costs".
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
There’s no movie star to take charge, and Greengrass doesn’t inflate the passengers into larger-than-life heroes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Mandates can encourage deployment, but they can also inflate electricity prices, due to supply-and-demand imbalance, and stimulate imports.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
Between 2016 and 2021, Evergrande and Xu as its boss "violated national laws by engaging in continuous, large-scale financial fraud and other means to inflate assets and conceal liabilities", the court said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
However, if there is enough mass—galaxies, galaxy clusters, and unseen dark matter—the initial push given by the big bang wouldn’t be enough to allow the balloon to inflate forever.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
"It inflates the entire sector - it inflates the Premier League, the Bundesliga, the French League, and eventually us as well."
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Decker says he has seen firsthand how this inflates application numbers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
The bottleneck that inflates Nvidia’s margins also inflates the cost of building the infrastructure that generates them.
From MarketWatch ● May 21, 2026
"Dominance of a few tech corporations in public infrastructure limits... our flexibility, threatens our security and inflates our software costs," Schroedter told AFP.
From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 2026
The gases in the rumen get trapped and the rumen inflates like a balloon until it presses against its lungs.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
City continue to deny any wrongdoing and have lodged an appeal against the findings in the Premier League's report that stated the club falsely inflated commercial revenues by £830m through "sham" contracts.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Being carless also spares us inflation in maintenance and insurance, and we can’t drive to malls and their inflated temptations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
“Public golf courses belong to the public, and residents shouldn’t have to compete with brokers buying up tee times just to turn around and sell them at inflated prices,” he said in a statement Sunday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
He inflated Navatek’s payroll to amass loans of $13 million, according to a federal indictment.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
“The bulge looked huge, inflated like a balloon,” remembered Mindy Brugman, who came to Coldwater II with another scientist, Carolyn Driedger, on Saturday to train David Johnston on the ruby laser ranger.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
But as it stands they are guilty of all charges related to inflating their sponsorship income to the tune of £830m, plus another £90m in expenses.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
The company has said it stands by its ratings — two former employees are suing it as they said they were pressured into inflating ratings to attract business.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
To them, chip makers and data-center suppliers are inflating results across all sectors, while raising fresh concerns about spending and free cash flow.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Law Group — accusing them of inflating medical bills and forcing clients to undergo needless and expensive surgeries to inflate the value of the claim.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
“Movie night or Honor Pictionary or Book Club?” my mom asks while inflating a blood pressure cuff around my arm.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
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