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
- deflator noun
- self-deflated adjective
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
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.
At Swanson’s home lab in Hawaii, the volcanoes K.lauea and Mauna Loa were like blisters, rising as magma swelled inside and then deflating once the fluid was released in an eruption.
From Literature
“Today’s pullback is more likely simply a deflating of some of the more crowded trades.”
From MarketWatch
I have no idea what she means by that last part, but I can tell my questions have deflated her a little.
From Literature
Another has a heap of deflated foil balloons – again, mostly bees.
From BBC
Just a couple of hours after beating the Bills in a thriller, Denver were deflated when news that quarterback Bo Nix had broken his ankle came through.
From BBC
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.
