as in expanded
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ballooned
Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 6 Feb. 2026
Costs have ballooned, though, having topped $100 billion since the program was announced.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Feb. 2026
That means SpaceX represents more than half of Musk’s paper wealth, which has ballooned past $852 billion, according to the Forbes Real Time Billionaires index.
—Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 4 Feb. 2026
Natural gas prices at regional trading hubs used by Oklahoma utilities and other customers ballooned to more than $1,200 per thousand cubic feet, up from $3 in the weeks leading up to the storm.
—Paul Monies, Oklahoma Watch, 3 Feb. 2026
After launching a website and sharing a trailer to his socials, that number quickly ballooned.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Feb. 2026
The agency’s annual budget has ballooned to $85 billion.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
Expansion fees ballooned from $10 million in 2006 to a record $250 million each for the three newest franchises — in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia — set to join the league by 2030.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
The number of documents subject to review ballooned to roughly 6 million, including duplicates.
—Eric Tucker, Fortune, 31 Jan. 2026
Verb
The number of Winter Olympic events, however, has ballooned to 116 in 2026—up from just 16 in the inaugural iteration.
—Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 6 Feb. 2026
Costs have ballooned, though, having topped $100 billion since the program was announced.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Feb. 2026
That means SpaceX represents more than half of Musk’s paper wealth, which has ballooned past $852 billion, according to the Forbes Real Time Billionaires index.
—Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 4 Feb. 2026
Natural gas prices at regional trading hubs used by Oklahoma utilities and other customers ballooned to more than $1,200 per thousand cubic feet, up from $3 in the weeks leading up to the storm.
—Paul Monies, Oklahoma Watch, 3 Feb. 2026
After launching a website and sharing a trailer to his socials, that number quickly ballooned.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Feb. 2026
The agency’s annual budget has ballooned to $85 billion.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
Expansion fees ballooned from $10 million in 2006 to a record $250 million each for the three newest franchises — in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia — set to join the league by 2030.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
The number of documents subject to review ballooned to roughly 6 million, including duplicates.
—Eric Tucker, Fortune, 31 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ballooned
Verb
-
The phrase has been tagged in more than 550,000 posts on Instagram, while on TikTok the number of videos with the #curatedvintage hashtag increased by 50% in the past year.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
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According to the complaint, the companies and their subsidiaries repeatedly increased EpiPen prices and paid pharmacy benefit managers to keep rival products off the market, which violates the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act, the Indiana Antitrust Act and the Medicaid False Claims Act.—
Jade Jackson,
IndyStar,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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However, blood was pouring out of Good’s left ear immediately after the shooting, and tissue protruded from the left side of her head, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported last week.—
Theresa Braine,
Mercury News,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Spider-y lash extensions protruded from her lash line, reaching to the bottom of her brows; a thin wing of black liner was drawn from the outer corners of her eyes.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Our own Metropolitan Museum displays a copy of that swollen right-hand — cast in bronze for Saint-Gaudens in the 1880s.—
Harold Holzer,
New York Daily News,
8 Feb. 2026
-
His face was also red and swollen.—
Erika Stanish,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Haynam’s lawsuit came as scrutiny of Kersten’s leadership swelled in the wake of the Dexter Reed shooting in March 2024.—
Sam Charles,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2026
-
The scandal swelled after British media reported a trove of emails between Mandelson and Epstein, in which the veteran Labour politician expressed support for his friend, despite the financier’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The sports journalist, who split from Kelce in 2022, joined forces with Tiffany Haddish, Ben Simmons, and Offset in a Sleeper commercial that poked fun at the aftermath of calling it quits in the spotlight.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
10 Feb. 2026
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Altman and other senior executives took to social media to respond to swipes from Anthropic, which ran Super Bowl ads that poked fun at OpenAI's decision to run ads within ChatGPT.—
Ashley Capoot,Kate Rooney,
CNBC,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Trump has not ruled out granting Maxwell clemency, but Republican pushback to that notion quickly rose after Maxwell made the appeal.—
Stephen Groves,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
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Swirling and intricate pink rose custom Pierre Frey wallpaper and deep blue wainscoting lead to the LaVerne suite, and mint greens and pastel pinks plus detailed wallpaper of Southwestern cacti and brush mirror Hal Thompson’s likes.—
Mandy Ellis,
Condé Nast Traveler,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The surrounding metropolitan area has similarly bulged.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Even pre-Covid, his pockets bulged with hand sanitizer.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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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
-
Once per act, a second duo crashes in on Didi and Gogo, providing the tramps’ power balance with a lurid, distended foil.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ballooned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ballooned. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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