inflate

Verb

Verb Forms: inflated, inflating, inflates

• To cause to expand by filling with gas or air.
• exaggerate or make bigger
  • "The charges were inflated"
• fill with gas or air
  • "inflate a balloons"
• cause prices to rise by increasing the available currency or credit
  • "The war inflated the economy"
• increase the amount or availability of, creating a rise in value
  • "inflate the currency"
• become inflated
• To enlarge an object by pushing air (or a gas) into it; to raise or expand abnormally
• To enlarge by filling with air (or a gas).
• To swell; to puff up.
• To decompress (data) that was previously deflated.
• To represent something as being more important, better, or worse than it actually is; to exaggerate.

Examples

• I hoped to inflate my score with a seven-letter word, but my tiles disagreed.
• Israel routinely claims that the Gaza Ministry of Health, which is run by Hamas, has a tendency to inflate the number of Palestinian casualties in the Gaza Strip.
• The balloon will inflate if you blow into it.
• to inflate somebody with pride or vanity
• You inflate a balloon by blowing air into it.

Synonyms

amplify, balloon, billow, blow up, expand

Antonyms

deflate

Related Words

inflation