inflate Hear it!

inflate Definition

in·flate (in flāt′)

transitive verb -·flat′ed, -·flat′·ing

  1. to blow full or swell out as with air or gas; distend; expand; dilate
  2. to raise in spirits; make proud or elated
  3. to increase or raise beyond what is normal or valid
  4. to cause inflation of (money, credit, etc.)

Etymology: < L inflatus, pp. of inflare, to blow into, inflate < in-, in + flare, to blow

intransitive verb

to become inflated; swell

inflate Related Forms

in·flat′er noun or in·fla′·tor

inflate Synonyms

inflate

v.

  1. To fill with air or gas

    blow up, pump up, puff up, puff out, expand, bloat, distend, swell, swell up, dilate, spread out, widen, balloon, cram, surcharge; see also fill 1, stretch 2, swell.

  2. To increase or raise abnormally

    exaggerate, magnify, stretch, overstate, aggrandize, exalt, blow up, build up, boost, raise, maximize, overestimate, escalate, mount, skyrocket, expand, balloon, swell, augment, enlarge; see also exaggerate, increase 1.

    Antonyms underestimate*, deflate*, minimize. See syn. study at expand.expand.

inflate Usage Examples

Object

  • balloon: Eventually he " somehow managed " to inflate a balloon with the gas.
  • tire: Under pressure Tires inflated to the correct level can save up to 10 % on fuel costs.
  • ego: It is also a good idea to avoid working with people who have inflated egos or who are interested only in their own advancement.
  • airbag: Exhaust gases inflate the airbag by way of a hose connected to the vehicle's exhaust.
  • bubble: Despite heroic efforts to keep the biotech bubble inflated [ 7 ] , industry has not benefited on the whole.
  • jacket: You want to be able to pull yourself out and then inflate the jacket.

Adjective complement

due: The price of family homes is artificially inflated due to developers being forced to build flats.

Modifying Another Word

  • artificially: Can you say ' artificially inflated transfer market ' ?
  • grossly: Putting in enough material to explain Markov models would have grossly inflated the chapter.
  • orally: The stole should then be inflated orally and air dried.
  • vastly: Then they sell the shoes for vastly inflated prices to poor black kids from the first world.
  • falsely: Her objective here can only be to falsely inflate the number of refugees emanating from the so-called " Milosevic case area.
  • massively: The BBC and other media perhaps massively inflated the figures without any reference to reality.

Used with why or when

when: It started inflating when the first person borrowed against the value of their own home to raise the deposit to buy another.

Infinitive complement

stretch: The balloon is then inflated to stretch the narrow part of the artery.

Preposition: in

second: It inflates in seconds, can be fitted in minutes and lasts for years.

Preposition: with

  • pump: An internal rubber bladder ensures the ball can be easily inflated with a standard pump.
  • air: It is a bit like a football being pumped up and inflated with air.
  • helium: The balloons are inflated with helium, ribboned, weighted and come with a card with your personal message.
  • water: The male has a pouch he may inflate with water to attract females, who may compete to win him.