inflated
Americanadjective
-
distended with air or gas; swollen.
-
puffed up, as with pride.
-
turgid or bombastic.
his inflated prose.
-
unduly increased in level.
inflated costs.
-
Economics. unduly expanded in amount, value, or size; characterized by inflation.
-
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.
The changes are aimed at reducing long waiting lists of up to six months, and preventing slots from being bulk-bought by bots and firms who resell them to learner drivers at inflated prices.
From BBC • May 11, 2026
It’s been a feature of booms that asset-heavy companies’ shares were all the rage as they inflated.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
CVS has a pending settlement agreement with the Federal Trade Commission to resolve allegations that its PBM inflated insulin prices, claims the company has denied.
From Barron's • May 5, 2026
Owners looking to trade in those vehicles now may face steeper-than-normal declines in value due to the inflated prices they paid at the time of purchase.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 28, 2026
Left with the class’s emblematic cars, Lilly Pulitzer skirts and Ralph Lauren shirts, their golf, tennis, and soccer, and, most conspicuously, their houses, they have staked out their place and inflated the American dream.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
Definitions 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.
