inflate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
inflates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
inflated,
past participle, past
-
inflating
present participle
-
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)
-
inflates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
inflated,
past participle, past
-
inflating
present participle
-
to become inflated.
-
to increase, especially suddenly and substantially.
The $10 subscription has inflated to $25.
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
Synonym Usage
See expand.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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inflatednessnoun
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inflaternoun
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inflatornoun
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reinflateverb
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overinflateverb (used with object)
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inflatedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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inflatesimple
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inflatessimple
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have inflatedperfect
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has inflatedperfect
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am inflatingprogressive
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are inflatingprogressive
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is inflatingprogressive
-
have been inflatingperfect progressive
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has been inflatingperfect progressive
Past
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inflatedsimple
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had inflatedperfect
-
was inflatingprogressive
-
were inflatingprogressive
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had been inflatingperfect progressive
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.
Vocabulary lists containing inflate
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:
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
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
Based on the whistleblower’s account, authorities began to explore whether Guggenheim Investments, partly owned by TWG, might have used misleading contracts to inflate its revenue and secure a better deal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
He gave me the ball back and I did as he said, pointing my finger toward that little hole where you stick the pin in to inflate the ball.
From "The Million Dollar Shot" by Dan Gutman
"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
LightCounting’s reason is that almost every transceiver component is now scarce and customers have started double ordering, which inflates backlogs.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
The currency’s slide inflates the top-line export figure, which is calculated in yen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
"Dominance of a few tech corporations in public infrastructure limits... our flexibility, threatens our security and inflates our software costs," Schroedter told AFP.
From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 2026
As the balloon inflates, the dots get farther and farther apart from one another.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
In the West Indies, these can be inflated by the cost of flying West Indies and visiting players between islands.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
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
There’s nothing inherently wrong with guesstimating economic opportunities, but the more prominent, inflated, or specific they are, the worse of a sign it can be.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
“Public golf courses belong to the public, and residents shouldn’t have to compete with brokers buying up tee times just to turn around and sell them at inflated prices,” he said in a statement Sunday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
As soon as he saw her safely hit the yellow inflated mattress and the firefighters reach for her, Rashid had run out of the room to find Tad and the others.
From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau
The commission, in contrast, used the word "sham" eight times when describing City's dealings, including artificially inflating revenue by more than £900m through "sham" deals.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
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
Now it’s inflating the dating value of bachelors and bachelorettes in the semiconductor industry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Law Group — accusing them of inflating medical bills and forcing clients to undergo needless and expensive surgeries to inflate the value of the claim.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
I sent out members to mingle with crowds and try to discourage any further violence and sent an open letter to all the press denouncing them for "distorting" and inflating minor incidents.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
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