inflate

verb

Definition of inflatenext
1
as in to increase
to make greater in size, amount, or number Check that you have inflated your tires to the recommended pressure. Some sellers were inflating their prices by as much as 500 per cent.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words
2
as in to accelerate
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number Airbags are designed to inflate automatically on impact.

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb inflate differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of inflate are amplify, dilate, distend, expand, and swell. While all these words mean "to increase in size or volume," inflate implies expanding by introduction of air or something insubstantial and suggests a vulnerability to sudden collapse.

an inflated ego

When is amplify a more appropriate choice than inflate?

While in some cases nearly identical to inflate, amplify implies the extension or enlargement of something inadequate.

amplify the statement with details

When is it sensible to use dilate instead of inflate?

The meanings of dilate and inflate largely overlap; however, dilate applies especially to expansion of circumference.

dilated pupils

Where would distend be a reasonable alternative to inflate?

Although the words distend and inflate have much in common, distend implies outward extension caused by pressure from within.

a distended abdomen

When might expand be a better fit than inflate?

The synonyms expand and inflate are sometimes interchangeable, but expand may apply regardless of the manner of increase (such as growth, unfolding, addition of parts).

a business that expands every year

When could swell be used to replace inflate?

The words swell and inflate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, swell implies gradual expansion beyond a thing's original or normal limits.

the bureaucracy swelled to unmanageable proportions

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of inflate The lawsuit claims RealPage, controlling over 80% of the rental market, uses data from competing landlords to artificially inflate rental prices. —Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 10 July 2025 Trump wouldn't be the first president to inflate or embellish economic activity on his watch. —Jarrett Renshaw, USA Today, 8 July 2025 Why Markets Haven’t Priced In Mortgage Defaults Markets are still fixated on tech earnings, inflated AI valuations, and the idea of a soft landing. —Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025 Those teams simply inflated the low-major leagues that compete for a single bid every year. —Joe Rexrode, New York Times, 10 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for inflate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inflate
  1. increase
  2. accelerate
  3. raise
  4. expand
  5. rise
  6. balloon
  7. swell
  8. distend
Verb
  • Decades of research and studies in agriculture have increased production across all crops in the U.S., said James, and cannabis can adopt those same technologies.
    — Julie Weed, Forbes.com, 26 July 2025
  • Reportedly, the cost of this renovation has surged significantly over the past few years, with the budget increasing from $1.9 billion in 2023 to $2.5 billion by 2025.
    — , CNBC, 25 July 2025
Definition of increase
Verb
  • Our graduates will now re-enter the market faster, prepared to hit the ground running and accelerate their careers.
    — Ryan Anderson, Arkansas Online, 20 July 2025
  • Starvation Much of Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland during more than 21 months of war and there are fears of accelerating starvation.
    — Nidal al-Mughrabi, USA Today, 20 July 2025
Definition of accelerate
Verb
  • Money raised will prioritize private residential nursing care, additional support services and ongoing transport and palliative care needs.
    — Katie Bain, Billboard, 15 July 2025
  • Attorneys in death penalty cases often raise the issue of past trauma as a mitigating factor for juries to consider when deciding punishment.
    — The Marshall Project, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 July 2025
Definition of raise
Verb
  • The plan laid out in Tuesday’s staff report proposed a ballot measure that would expand protections for thousands of acres of open space across Irvine.
    — Hanna Kang, Oc Register, 26 July 2025
  • As of 2025, fiber internet is available to approximately 88.1 million U.S. households (56.5%), but access is expanding rapidly.
    — Roxanne Downer, USA Today, 26 July 2025
Definition of expand
Verb
  • Sales rose 7% in the second quarter compared with Q2 2024 and 12% in 2025’s first half.
    — Jackie Charniga, Freep.com, 23 July 2025
  • According to a Strategy& report, global battery-electric vehicle (BEV) sales rose 42% year over year in Q1 2025, reaching 4 million units when combined with plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which use both a battery and an engine.
    — Zohar Bronfman, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
Definition of rise
Verb
  • The National Park Service has said high winds pushed the flames beyond containment lines, ballooning the fire to thousands of acres.
    — Stacey Barchenger, AZCentral.com, 20 July 2025
  • Meanwhile, having been in a position when the railways were close to covering their daily running costs prior to the pandemic, taxpayer subsidies have since ballooned.
    — Ian King, CNBC, 9 July 2025
Definition of balloon
Verb
  • Oral allergy symptoms include swelling and itching around your mouth, tongue, lips, throat and entire face.
    — Raven Brunner, People.com, 13 July 2025
  • He was received graciously, and the volunteers mustered a crew to add his donations to the swelling stock of supplies.
    — Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 11 July 2025
Definition of swell
Verb
  • The effect is to both collapse and distend time until all the souls in the book, most of them nameless anyway, exist at the same time, in the same place, forever.
    — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2025
  • Isaiah was also malnourished and dehydrated at the time of his death, with his small and large intestines markedly distended.
    — Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2017
Definition of distend

Browse Nearby Words

inflammatory
inflate
inflated
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Inflate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inflate. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on inflate

Nglish: Translation of inflate for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Our Best Historical Slang Terms

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Better Ways to Say 'This Sucks'

8 Words with Fascinating Histories
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Our Best Historical Slang Terms

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All