1
as in to collapse
to become smaller in size or volume due to loss of contents
We kept her birthday decorations up until the balloons started deflating.
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2
as in to empty
to make smaller in size or volume by removing the contents
Please deflate the air mattress and fold it up before you leave.
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3
as in to reduce
to make or become lower in amount or value
The excess supply deflated prices. The company's stock has deflated.
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4
as in to undermine
to cause to lose force or effectiveness
Her cutting remark deflated his ego. The lawsuit deflated their hopes for a quick resolution.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deflate
The cost of homes has been slowing deflating after the COVID-19 pandemic drove rates sky high.
—
Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 2 Sep. 2025
Scientists can estimate a few days or even a week ahead of time when lava is likely to emerge with the help of sensors around the volcano that detect earthquakes and minuscule changes in the angle of the ground, which indicate when magma is inflating or deflating.
—CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Weissert then allowed another double, this one to veteran Andrew McCutcheon, scoring Pham giving Pittsburgh the lead -- and deflating the sellout Fenway crowd of 36,344 which to that point had been at a fever pitch.
—Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025
Sometimes the image or analogy that occurred to me was of sitting under a deflating parachute in gym class.
—Michael Robbins, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deflate
Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 2 Sep. 2025
Scientists can estimate a few days or even a week ahead of time when lava is likely to emerge with the help of sensors around the volcano that detect earthquakes and minuscule changes in the angle of the ground, which indicate when magma is inflating or deflating.
—CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Weissert then allowed another double, this one to veteran Andrew McCutcheon, scoring Pham giving Pittsburgh the lead -- and deflating the sellout Fenway crowd of 36,344 which to that point had been at a fever pitch.
—Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025
Sometimes the image or analogy that occurred to me was of sitting under a deflating parachute in gym class.
—Michael Robbins, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deflate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deflate
Verb
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By this time, the Soviet Union had collapsed, leading Manuylov to start a business in the candy trade.—
Maria Williams,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
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Luckily, the airport had a failsafe in the form of a ground material designed to collapse under the plane's weight and stop it in its tracks.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Less than two days after a report of gunfire sent people running at Worlds of Fun Saturday night, emptying the amusement park on the first night of their Halloween Haunt event, police have determined the noises were caused by fireworks.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
16 Sep. 2025
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Different causes, same results — urinary flow is blocked, and the bladder cannot empty properly.—
Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt,
CNN Money,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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His team accused Whatley of distorting the facts to cover for his support of federal policies that reduced funding for local police.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Sep. 2025
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Valentino has been streamlining its wholesale channel, reduced by about 20 percent in 2024, a strategy that continued in 2025 and that is expected to impact its year-end performance.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Now, its Supreme Court is moving to hold a former president accountable for allegedly trying to undermine democracy and steer the country back toward authoritarian rule.—
Júlia Dias Carneiro,
NPR,
11 Sep. 2025
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Failing to meet that obligation undermines not only educational opportunity, but also the sovereignty, economic vitality, and cultural survival of Tribal nations.—
Marybeth Gasman,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Both Michigan Central and Emergent Campus models compress this learning curve by integrating practical application from day one.—
Alison Griffin,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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According to Spotify, Bluetooth currently doesn’t provide enough bandwidth to transmit lossless audio, so the signal has to be compressed before being sent.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Add to this poor emotional literacy, a lack of transparency, back-to-back meetings and the energy-draining complexity of navigating competing priorities.—
Sandro da Silva,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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Reopening is dependent on how well the area drains.—
Gillian Stawiszynski,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Ross, one of the Democrats to decline AIPAC money, is a relative centrist, according to a GovTrack scorecard, while Foushee and McGarvey, Kentucky’s only House Democrat, are in the middle of the pack ideologically.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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That has declined over the years because of budget constraints.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Foreign powers such as Russia and China, which challenge America and its allies from Europe to the Middle East to Taiwan and the South China Sea, have long been accused of exploiting such divisions through disinformation campaigns that inflame tensions and weaken confidence in American governance.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
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But around the equinoxes, the natural buffer weakens.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deflate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deflate. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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