ballooned 1 of 2

adjective

as in expanded

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ballooned

2 of 2

verb

past tense of balloon
1
as in increased
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number the number of students who stay home sick balloons every winter

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in protruded
to extend outward beyond a usual point the paper bag ballooned and blew away as the wind lifted it skyward

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 ballooned
Verb
And that uncertainty has ballooned into a crisis of its own, which has only intensified after a rapid series of announcements from the Food and Drug Administration. — Allie Canal, NBC news, 24 July 2026 The trio found that as the disk variations ballooned, the ability to isolate a unique matrix weakened. — Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 24 July 2026 Property values increased by 60% in Miami-Dade in the half decade since 2019, and property taxes ballooned by almost 50% over the same period, according to real estate analytics firm Cotality. — Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 23 July 2026 The price tag has since ballooned to over $14 million, and more than two weeks after Independence Day, the pool is empty and fenced off from the public. — Rachel Treisman, NPR, 22 July 2026 But over the next 18 months, Poolside largely disappeared from view, while OpenAI and Anthropic ballooned to nearly trillion-dollar valuations with a crop of Chinese labs building open source models nipping at their heels. — Iain Martin, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026 More than 1 in 17 new California home loans are being written using the state’s insurer of last resort — the California FAIR Plan, which has ballooned in growth in recent years. — Paris Barraza, USA Today, 21 July 2026 The tournament’s duration, though, had ballooned to 39 days, a decision that has been routinely criticised by players’ unions. — Colin Millar, New York Times, 21 July 2026 Medicare has covered remote patient monitoring since 2018, and payments ballooned to over $500 million in 2024. — Mario Aguilar, STAT, 15 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ballooned
  1. swollen
  2. increased
  3. protruded
  4. distended
  5. swelled
  6. poked
  7. puffed
  8. rose
Adjective
  • Afterward, her face was so swollen that her daughter, Ana Corina, could barely recognize her.
    — Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 20 July 2026
  • Man kayaks Texas river during flash flood swelling The video drew attention online as flooding continued across parts of Texas, with officials warning residents to stay away from swollen rivers and creeks.
    — Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 17 July 2026
Definition of swollen
Verb
  • Bike lane tickets increased to $250 after the 2022 death of 3-year-old Lily Grace Shambrook, who was killed in a traffic crash while riding on the back of her mother’s bike in Uptown.
    — A.D. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 19 July 2026
  • Researchers could not attribute increased or decreased beach erosion to higher global average temperatures.
    — Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 July 2026
Definition of increased
Verb
  • The skinny braids wrapped the bottom of the bun, while the thicker braids dressed the top, forming a cylinder shape that protruded from the crown of her head.
    — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 29 June 2026
  • The problem was that many of them protruded from the front of vehicles like miniature medieval weapons.
    — Peter Lyon, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
Definition of protruded
Adjective
  • Fiber slows gastric emptying, making the stomach more distended.
    — Amy Brownstein, Verywell Health, 27 May 2026
  • The distended episodes were littered with what feels like filler, little of which offered much in the way of narrative value.
    — Emma Flint, IndieWire, 25 Nov. 2025
Definition of distended
Verb
  • Since 2024, the body’s ranks have swelled to include a number of podcasters, Substackers, and other independent creators, along with right-wing outfits such as Turning Point USA, Breitbart, and Newsmax.
    — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 24 July 2026
  • In the following days, Beretti’s right knee swelled severely, according to her health department complaint.
    — Ella Moore July 23, Miami Herald, 23 July 2026
Definition of swelled
Verb
  • It’s now understood that Russia in 2016 poked the election systems in all 50 states to check what protections were in place and accessed—but did not change—some very local registration rosters in Florida and Illinois.
    — Philip Elliott, Time, 17 July 2026
  • The teen said Jones poked his head through the doorway, then returned to the room and continued firing before leaving the apartment.
    — Eleanor Jacobs, PEOPLE, 17 July 2026
Definition of poked
Adjective
  • Cover pot, reduce heat to low, and simmer, checking occasionally to make sure water isn’t boiling too rapidly, until matzo balls are very puffed and light in color, 30–40 minutes.
    — Molly Baz, Bon Appetit Magazine, 12 Mar. 2026
  • Bake, 1 baking sheet at a time, in preheated oven until slightly puffed and golden brown, about 12 minutes.
    — Marianne Williams, Southern Living, 25 Feb. 2026
Definition of puffed
Verb
  • The positivity rate rose to 21% among employees who underwent random hair testing, according to the company’s annual Drug Testing Index.
    — A.J. Herrington, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
  • Shares in chipmakers Samsung and TSMC in particular saw big gains from comparative lows, as investors bet that semiconductor demand would continue; tech-heavy benchmarks in South Korea, Taiwan, and China all rose.
    — Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 21 July 2026
Definition of rose

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Cite this Entry

“Ballooned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ballooned. Accessed 26 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on ballooned

Nglish: Translation of ballooned for Spanish Speakers

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