inflated
Americanadjective
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distended with air or gas; swollen.
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puffed up, as with pride.
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turgid or bombastic.
his inflated prose.
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unduly increased in level.
inflated costs.
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Economics. unduly expanded in amount, value, or size; characterized by inflation.
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Botany. hollow and enlarged or swelled out.
inflated perianth.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inflated
Explanation
If it's puffed up and overrated, it's probably inflated — a simple adjective that means blown out of proportion or exaggerated. Think of a balloon. You blow and blow, and it gets bigger and bigger. Sometimes if you blow too much it takes on a distorted shape, or even explodes. Now use that same imagery, but swap the balloon for someone's ego or the price of U2 concert tickets. Both personalities and prices can get inflated beyond reasonableness — the personalities with pretentious hot air and the prices with unnecessary cost.
Vocabulary lists containing inflated
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.
On the American side, he argued, the same inflated projections fueled warnings that China’s overtaking was inevitable, fueling a Washington consensus built partly on what he calls a statistical mirage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
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
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 intended, the pressure from the rover blasted the canvas outward and inflated it.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
