deflate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to release the air or gas from (something inflated, as a balloon).
They deflated the tires slightly to allow the truck to drive under the overpass.
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to depress or reduce (a person or a person's ego, hopes, spirits, etc.); puncture; dash.
Her rebuff thoroughly deflated me.
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to reduce (currency, prices, etc.) from an inflated condition; to affect with deflation.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to collapse or cause to collapse through the release of gas
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(tr) to take away the self-esteem or conceit from
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economics to cause deflation of (an economy, the money supply, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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deflatesimple
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deflatessimple
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have deflatedperfect
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has deflatedperfect
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am deflatingprogressive
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are deflatingprogressive
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is deflatingprogressive
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have been deflatingperfect progressive
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has been deflatingperfect progressive
Past
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deflatedsimple
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had deflatedperfect
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was deflatingprogressive
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were deflatingprogressive
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had been deflatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deflate
1890–95; < Latin dēflātus blown off, away (past participle of dēflāre ), equivalent to dē- de- + fl ( āre ) to blow + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
To deflate is to let the air out of something. If you deflate the tires on your brother's bike, he won't be able to ride it until he gets them pumped up again. You can deflate anything that's full of air or another gas: an air mattress, an inflatable sled, a helium balloon, or the tires on your car. When something, like a hot air balloon, empties of air, you can also say it deflates. Figuratively, a person can also deflate when they are suddenly drained of self-assurance or cheer: "Hearing him criticize me in front of the class made me deflate."
Vocabulary lists containing deflate
Fish in a Tree
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Everything, Everything
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Night of the Spadefoot Toads
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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:
Market mood swings could deflate the share price balloon well before that, though.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
That puts it on track for the best one-month performance since the record 50.4% rally in February 2000, which was the month before the dot-com bubble started to deflate.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 28, 2026
“Just as fast as it could come up, it could come down,” he said, pointing to the struggles of private companies that raised capital at high prices in 2021 only to see their values deflate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
It was reminiscent of Roger Federer at his best, able to relieve pressure and deflate opponents by serving his way out of trouble.
From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2026
It was one of those cheap plastic ones that can deflate like balloons.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
If the AI bubble ever deflates, these energy companies with no revenue have the farthest to fall and little in the way of a cushion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025
It deconstructs the artifice of a rock show, making The 1975 seem more human - but equally, it deflates the excitement of watching a band in full flow.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2025
But I think that greatly deflates the more potent message that Jonze was trying to deliver.
From Slate ● Apr. 11, 2025
Domingo didn’t plan how to act that scene, but running smack into the harsh reality of the system, the actor visibly deflates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2025
It deflates them, reduces them to the common denominator where they can be dealt with.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
When he took control, English cricket was completely deflated - one win in 17 Tests and drained by Covid restrictions.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
In contrast, when he faced the cameras after Trump told him to cancel his plans to attack Beirut on Monday, the leading Israeli newspaper columnist Ben Caspit said he looked like a deflated balloon.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
Egos will be deflated where necessary, lessons learned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
Elsewhere, steel structures appear variously deflated, vacuum-sealed, flopped, melted and wrinkled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
I should be devastated or pissed or deflated as I let myself into the house next door and climb the stairs to my best friend’s bedroom.
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
His premiership, in the eyes of many on his own side, has been deflating for months.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
The Lakers’ latest deflating loss could have used Doncic’s energy,his showmanship, his fire.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026
She takes in more of his deflating stalling before saying to him, in English, “Dr. Kim, I love you.”
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026
The penultimate track, “Paint by Numbers,” an acoustic ballad with a pretty melody, is a rare aesthetic change-up on the record, but its titular metaphor is ultimately deflating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026
Her voice had gone all pinched, like the neck of a deflating balloon.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
