deflate

American  

[dih-flayt] / dɪˈfleɪt /

verb (used with object)

• deflates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• deflated,
  past participle,  past
• deflating
  present participle

1. 

   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.

2. to depress or reduce (a person or a person's ego, hopes, spirits, etc.); puncture; dash.

   Her rebuff thoroughly deflated me.

3. to reduce (currency, prices, etc.) from an inflated condition; to affect with deflation.

---

verb (used without object)

• deflates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• deflated,
  past participle,  past
• deflating
  present participle

1. to become deflated.

deflate British  

/ dɪˈfleɪt /

verb

1. to collapse or cause to collapse through the release of gas

2. (tr) to take away the self-esteem or conceit from

3. economics to cause deflation of (an economy, the money supply, etc)

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• deflator
  noun
• self-deflated
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• deflating
  present
• deflated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• deflate
  simple
• deflates
  simple
• have deflated
  perfect
• has deflated
  perfect
• am deflating
  progressive
• are deflating
  progressive
• is deflating
  progressive
• have been deflating
  perfect progressive
• has been deflating
  perfect progressive

Past

• deflated
  simple
• had deflated
  perfect
• was deflating
  progressive
• were deflating
  progressive
• had been deflating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will deflate
  simple
• will have deflated
  perfect
• will be deflating
  progressive
• will have been deflating
  perfect progressive

---

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

deflate deflates deflated deflating

Traders also see a 20% chance the bubble will deflate before July 2027.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026

Along with “burn rate,” funding gap became part of the financial lexicon in 2000, as the dot-com bubble was starting to deflate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

According to testimony from the two survivors, their flimsy boat began to deflate and take on water after several hours at sea.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

About 15 minutes into the chase, as the driver drove northbound on Western, officers attempted to throw a spike strip in front of the vehicle’s tires to deflate them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

I deflate like a post-balloon that's lost its air, but I don't follow her.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

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

A familiar resolution deflates the status the movie had earned up until that point as a wildly unpredictable work of trashy cleverness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2024

Tano almost visibly deflates, as if he’s been caught with his hand in a cookie jar.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

At 10:17 p.m., an officer threw another spike strip under the SUV, which successfully deflated at least one rear tire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Social media cut a different pattern, in which individual companies deflated even as the entire market grew.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

“But I’m just finishing up,” Dan protested, now deflated.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

When the skin has collapsed into your palm like a deflated balloon, you lift the box grater and discover an almost implausible amount of ruby pulp underneath it.

From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026

I gazed up at the trees where a deflated red balloon was caught in some branches.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

The boat was poor quality, overcrowded and "appeared to be deflating upon interception", the prosecutor added.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Talkers, 2,172 of them, fill every stateroom on the cruise ship, American Fantasy, as it sets out on a four-day journey—“Miami, Bahamas, Miami, a small loop in the shape of a deflating balloon.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

There’s no sign of the AI bubble deflating yet and far from exhibiting signs of fatigue, the capital investment cycle continues its boom.

From MarketWatch ● May 8, 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

Her salt- and-pepper hair turned completely gray and her robust figure sprang a slow leak, so that she seemed to be deflating day by day.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• depress
• diminish
• exhaust

---