1
as in increases
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 accelerates
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number
Airbags are designed to inflate automatically on impact.
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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 inflates
Demonstrate How Credibility Lowers Customer Acquisition Cost Lack of credibility acts as a trust tax that inflates customer acquisition cost.
—
Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
Prosecutors said fraudulent activity artificially inflates streams, reducing the amount paid to musicians and songwriters whose work is listened to by real audiences.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
In order to minimize rider impact with the handlebars or other hard surfaces, the airbag inflates upward during a forward crash.
—New Atlas, 24 Mar. 2026
Students that are assigned a teacher that inflates grades are more likely to score poorly on future tests.
—Jake Angelo, Fortune, 19 Mar. 2026
Their croaking involves pushing air over vocal cords into a thin membrane known as a vocal sac that inflates under the chin.
—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Mar. 2026
An avalanche airbag backpack that inflates after the skier pulls the trigger giving the person a chance to stay above or close to the surface during an avalanche.
—ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
This practice artificially inflates prices and prevents everyday Texans from outbidding Wall Street.
—Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
Now, rather than invest in more powerful and more expensive technologies, some scientists are using an alternative technique called expansion microscopy, which inflates the subject using the same moisture-absorbing material found in diapers.
—Molly Herring, Quanta Magazine, 4 Feb. 2026
Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
Prosecutors said fraudulent activity artificially inflates streams, reducing the amount paid to musicians and songwriters whose work is listened to by real audiences.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
In order to minimize rider impact with the handlebars or other hard surfaces, the airbag inflates upward during a forward crash.
—New Atlas, 24 Mar. 2026
Students that are assigned a teacher that inflates grades are more likely to score poorly on future tests.
—Jake Angelo, Fortune, 19 Mar. 2026
Their croaking involves pushing air over vocal cords into a thin membrane known as a vocal sac that inflates under the chin.
—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Mar. 2026
An avalanche airbag backpack that inflates after the skier pulls the trigger giving the person a chance to stay above or close to the surface during an avalanche.
—ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
This practice artificially inflates prices and prevents everyday Texans from outbidding Wall Street.
—Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
Now, rather than invest in more powerful and more expensive technologies, some scientists are using an alternative technique called expansion microscopy, which inflates the subject using the same moisture-absorbing material found in diapers.
—Molly Herring, Quanta Magazine, 4 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inflates
Verb
-
This increases your visibility to potential rescuers.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
3 June 2026
-
Brain activity also increases during a stress response, making movements which are usually automatic less so, and perhaps even slower.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
After menopause, when estrogen levels fall sharply, the breakdown side accelerates and the building side can’t keep up.—
Allison Palmer
Updated June 3,
Sacbee.com,
3 June 2026
-
But even as investment accelerates, the assumption that skilled trades are insulated from AI is starting to shift.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
For some, the sudden enforcement raises questions about why the city is acting now and whether there are other ways to address violations without arrests, confiscations and criminal penalties.—
Laura Rodríguez Presa,
Chicago Tribune,
2 June 2026
-
The decision followed two hours of debate and multiple failed motions — including a proposal to lower police raises — as leaders attempted to balance equity concerns with budget constraints.—
Nick Sullivan,
Charlotte Observer,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
The film expands Haig’s play and includes additional characters and sequences, including the actual D-day invasion.—
Emily Zemler,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
-
And yet as the series expands from and twists around its simple horror concept (a wedding at the groom-to-be’s family house in the woods is fated for a titular dark catastrophe), Morrone’s performance as Rachel is able to shoulder the weight of quite a bit of backstory and a complicated endgame.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike that hit Qlaileh village as seen from the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, on Tuesday.—
Chantal Da Silva,
NBC news,
4 June 2026
-
According to the sign on the set before the curtain rises, the population of Jerome, an actual former copper-mining town in central Arizona, has evaporated, giving it ghost status.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
The beach town swells with visitors in the summer, though surfers flock here any time of year for the classic surf break Plage de Lafitenia and big waves surf spot Belharra.—
Anne Olivia Bauso,
Travel + Leisure,
21 May 2026
-
Throughout, visiting tourist Madeleine (Kristen Stewart) stuffs her face with every kind of meat, vegetable and carb while her father Phil (Woody Harrelson) is the one whose stomach miraculously swells.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inflates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inflates. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
