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.
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2
as in accelerates
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number
Airbags are designed to inflate automatically on impact.
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Recent Examples of inflates
The towable clamshell unfolds and inflates into a cozy base camp in a matter of minutes.
—
New Atlas, 30 Dec. 2025
When American companies are forced to rely on equipment that is slower, smaller and less seaworthy because federal policy artificially inflates ship prices, the resulting delays, losses and failures should come as no surprise.
—Colin Grabow, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025
Some analysts say this structure, where Nvidia is essentially subsidizing one of its biggest customers, artificially inflates actual demand for AI.
—Bobby Allyn, NPR, 23 Nov. 2025
The hard part is looking cool when your glove inflates like a giant smurf head.
—Outside Online, 5 Nov. 2025
It’s made with water-resistant polyester, and inflates in less than five minutes, thanks to its powerful fans.
—Sian Babish, PEOPLE, 2 Nov. 2025
Critics say investor cash inflates prices above what many house hunters can afford, essentially squeezing out first-time buyers.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 24 Oct. 2025
The decoy unfolds from a compact square box and inflates into a full-size F-35 replica within minutes.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2025
This is classic detection bias that inflates risk estimates without reflecting true health differences.
—Kristen Jordan Shamus, Freep.com, 25 Sep. 2025
New Atlas, 30 Dec. 2025
When American companies are forced to rely on equipment that is slower, smaller and less seaworthy because federal policy artificially inflates ship prices, the resulting delays, losses and failures should come as no surprise.
—Colin Grabow, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025
Some analysts say this structure, where Nvidia is essentially subsidizing one of its biggest customers, artificially inflates actual demand for AI.
—Bobby Allyn, NPR, 23 Nov. 2025
The hard part is looking cool when your glove inflates like a giant smurf head.
—Outside Online, 5 Nov. 2025
It’s made with water-resistant polyester, and inflates in less than five minutes, thanks to its powerful fans.
—Sian Babish, PEOPLE, 2 Nov. 2025
Critics say investor cash inflates prices above what many house hunters can afford, essentially squeezing out first-time buyers.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 24 Oct. 2025
The decoy unfolds from a compact square box and inflates into a full-size F-35 replica within minutes.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2025
This is classic detection bias that inflates risk estimates without reflecting true health differences.
—Kristen Jordan Shamus, Freep.com, 25 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inflates
Verb
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That carryover increases the money pool each racing day for the pick six.—
Danny Brewer,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
-
The chance of snow increases Saturday night.—
Cutter Martin,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Orchestrated by a central process orchestration layer such as zenon, this approach accelerates scale-up from lab to full production, slashes changeover time, reduces waste, and breaks vendor lock‑in while protecting existing assets and enabling continuous improvement.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Jan. 2026
-
In volatile environments, anxiety accelerates decisions.—
Benjamin Laker,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Emitting even a billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere today raises the risk of extinction, even if ever so slightly, and the rate at which our activities are causing species to become extinct adds to that risk.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Jan. 2026
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Shares in those and other Japanese corporations are on a tear as Japan’s central bank raises rates to combat inflation after years of deflation.—
John Hyatt,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The current phase expands participation to additional countries and concentrates on issues such as prevention of major equipment failures, safety classification of systems, and scenarios involving loss of external power supplies.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Jan. 2026
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With only nine members, the Pac-12 will play a 16-game conference schedule, leaving up to 16 in the nonconference when the NCAA expands to a maximum of 32 next year.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The growth of networks spanning countries shows no sign of slowing, even as nationalism rises and geographical borders harden.—
Dr. Shaheena Janjuha-Jivraj,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Any return depends entirely on whether the price of gold rises over time.—
Roxanne Downer,
USA Today,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
While the number of retirees swells, the pool of workers funding the social safety net — and caring for the aging population — is narrowing.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
7 Jan. 2026
-
There's a sort of a natural world religiousness or spirituality or philosophy that swells around a lot of things and different characters.—
Rebecca Ford,
Vanity Fair,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inflates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inflates. Accessed 24 Jan. 2026.
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