deflate

[dih-fleyt]

See more synonyms for deflate on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), de·flat·ed, de·flat·ing.

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.
to depress or reduce (a person or a person's ego, hopes, spirits, etc.); puncture; dash: Her rebuff thoroughly deflated me.
to reduce (currency, prices, etc.) from an inflated condition; to affect with deflation.

verb (used without object), de·flat·ed, de·flat·ing.

to become deflated.

Origin of deflate

1890–95; < Latin dēflātus blown off, away (past participle of dēflāre), equivalent to dē- de- + fl(āre) to blow + -ātus -ate¹

Related formsde·fla·tor, nounself-de·flat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for deflated

exhausted, drained, sagging, empty, shrunken, burst, contracted, kaput

Examples from the Web for deflated

Contemporary Examples of deflated

Papers sent reporters along the old Route 66 in search of the deflated American dream.
Is There a Ma Joad for the Piketty Era?
Katie Baker
July 1, 2014
Gore stood up to challenge Bush in this 2000 debate, but got flummoxed and deflated by a simple nod.
Presidential Debate Wins and Fails: Reagan, Gore, Bush & More (VIDEO)
The Daily Beast
October 2, 2012
But if Strauss-Kahn's case is dismissed, or deflated to a misdemeanor, the question will be how thick that line is, in fact.
Can DSK Still Be French President?
Tracy McNicoll
July 1, 2011
And numbed out, having escaped death on 9/11, notes the World Trade Center “towers collapsing like a deflated carnival castle.”
Best New Writers
Oscar Villalon
September 20, 2010
This was never a bubble that was going to pop, it was a balloon that has now deflated.
The Art World's Hot Investment
James Wilentz
December 13, 2008

Historical Examples of deflated

Johnson deflated his area of the room with his breath intake.
Measure for a Loner
James Judson Harmon
Like a punctured ballon it deflated and became a shriveled, clinging thing.
The Copper-Clad World
Harl Vincent
As has been said, Joe deflated his lungs just before he took his dive.
Joe Strong, the Boy Fish
Vance Barnum
He deflated his chest, spread his heels, and ceased to draw in his abdomen.
Indiscretions of Archie
P. G. Wodehouse
Which deflated that particular enterprise for the moment, anyway.
The Killer
Stewart Edward White

British Dictionary definitions for deflated

deflate

verb

to collapse or cause to collapse through the release of gas
(tr) to take away the self-esteem or conceit from
economics to cause deflation of (an economy, the money supply, etc)

Derived Formsdeflator, noun

Word Origin for deflate

C19: from de- + (in) flate

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for deflated

deflate

1891, in reference to balloons, coinage based on inflate. Latin deflare meant "to blow away," but in the modern word the prefix is taken in the sense of "down." Related: Deflated; deflating.