Synonyms

inflate

American

[in-flayt] / ɪnˈfleɪt /

verb (used with object)

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)

to become inflated.
to increase, especially suddenly and substantially.

The $10 subscription has inflated to $25.

inflate British

/ ɪnˈfleɪt /

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

"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

Synonym Usage

See expand.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

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.

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Vocabulary lists containing inflate

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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:

inflate inflates inflated inflating

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

And if you’re going to artificially inflate your activity level, be careful.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 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

Importantly for all those planning a shindig, the balloon inflates as easily as a conventional one.

From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026

“It’s terrible for most kids around the country, because it inflates their expectations,” said Jon Reider, a former Stanford admissions officer who is now an independent college consultant.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026

In other words, asking about food decisions piece by piece naturally inflates the total.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 5, 2026

Whatever was in her throat got bigger, like one of those foam bath pellets that inflates in water.

From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy

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

The club was found to have artificially inflated revenue through "sham" sponsorship agreements with the help of its owners.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

He inflated Navatek’s payroll to amass loans of $13 million, according to a federal indictment.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

Atlanta Braves: Reynaldo López inflated hopes of a late-career surge when he posted a 1.99 ERA over 25 starts in his first season with Atlanta.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Now that his secret was out, Milo relaxed with Yossarian and Orr and inflated opulently with a vast, shy pride.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

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

“It doesn’t mean that all businesses using dynamic pricing or pricing algorithms are engaging in inflating prices,” said Eric Enson, a lawyer representing the chamber, during a legislative hearing last year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

The companies are suspected of inflating ice cream prices beyond increases in the cost of raw materials, even as the country faces a hot summer with record high temperatures.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

UniCredit's reporting of a gradually increasing uptake of its offer prompted accusations from Commerzbank that it was artificially inflating the figures.

From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026

As I sat there one of them was inflating my faked memberships into meanings of national significance.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023