1
as in increasing
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 accelerating
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number
Airbags are designed to inflate automatically on impact.
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Recent Examples of inflating
What was once meant to be a narrow exception for genuine crises has become a routine pretext for government overreach — a means of inflating executive power and corroding the nation’s fiscal credibility.
—
Veronique De Rugy, Oc Register, 7 Nov. 2025
The lawsuit alleges Spotify failed to prevent bots fraudulently inflating streams for Drake, whose legal name is Aubrey Drake Graham.
—Lauren Wilson, NBC news, 3 Nov. 2025
These Standard Model interactions would have heated the inflating universe, sidestepping the complication of needing a subsequent reheating phase.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2025
In total, Alex was found to have embezzled more than $6 million from at least two dozen clients, inflating fees or expenses and diverting settlement money into his own accounts, per PBS.
—Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
While James was successful in her lawsuit against Trump for over-inflating the value of his properties to gain favorable loans, an appeals court ruled that the fine of $350 million — which ballooned to over $500 million — was excessive and voided the fine.
—Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 18 Oct. 2025
Given the role that Wall Street’s élite played in inflating and promoting the bubble, this is either a generous view or a jaded commentary on the fallen nature of mankind.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Trump was found to have provided misleading accounts to lenders, falsely inflating his net worth.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 10 Oct. 2025
Unrolling and inflating takes less than two minutes.
—Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 6 Oct. 2025
Veronique De Rugy, Oc Register, 7 Nov. 2025
The lawsuit alleges Spotify failed to prevent bots fraudulently inflating streams for Drake, whose legal name is Aubrey Drake Graham.
—Lauren Wilson, NBC news, 3 Nov. 2025
These Standard Model interactions would have heated the inflating universe, sidestepping the complication of needing a subsequent reheating phase.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2025
In total, Alex was found to have embezzled more than $6 million from at least two dozen clients, inflating fees or expenses and diverting settlement money into his own accounts, per PBS.
—Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
While James was successful in her lawsuit against Trump for over-inflating the value of his properties to gain favorable loans, an appeals court ruled that the fine of $350 million — which ballooned to over $500 million — was excessive and voided the fine.
—Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 18 Oct. 2025
Given the role that Wall Street’s élite played in inflating and promoting the bubble, this is either a generous view or a jaded commentary on the fallen nature of mankind.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Trump was found to have provided misleading accounts to lenders, falsely inflating his net worth.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 10 Oct. 2025
Unrolling and inflating takes less than two minutes.
—Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 6 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inflating
Verb
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Many are pulling six-day work weeks with mandatory overtime, and increasing numbers have begun calling out as the financial strain and exhaustion mount.—
JOSH FUNK,
Arkansas Online,
8 Nov. 2025
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The military is striking the boats at the same time the administration is applying increasing pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.—
NPR,
NPR,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Dark energy was introduced as a placeholder force to explain this accelerating expansion.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
6 Nov. 2025
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The expansion rate of the universe may be slowing down, rather than accelerating at an ever-growing rate, a potentially groundbreaking new study has hinted.—
Ian Randall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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It is measured in the millions of students striving for opportunity—most of them raising children, working jobs, serving in uniform, or making rent and mortgage payments with other bills competing for their attention.—
Yolanda Watson Spiva,
Fortune,
8 Nov. 2025
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One person might earn more while the other contributes in different but equally meaningful ways, like managing the home, raising kids and planning for the future.—
Annie Nova,
CNBC,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The concept is expanding into practice in the state as a solution to regional food distribution challenges.—
Cristina LaRue,
Arkansas Online,
9 Nov. 2025
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Future work will focus on integrating snow-deposition modeling with PV yield simulations to more accurately predict energy losses and on expanding analyses to more complex, uneven alpine terrain.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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There are trade-offs, of course—rising Obamacare premiums will harm people, too.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
11 Nov. 2025
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Both consultants estimated that inflation in Caracas is currently running between 20% and 30% a month and is destined to keep rising as long as the bolivar depreciation continues.—
Stefano Pozzebon,
CNN Money,
11 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Per BrightOcular, potential complications include infections, high pressure in the eye, glaucoma, inflammation of the iris, swelling in the cornea, loss of cells around the cornea, deterioration of the iris and more.—
Raven Brunner,
PEOPLE,
8 Nov. 2025
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Arthritis refers to swelling in the joints.—
Carrie Madormo,
Health,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Finally, when simply ballooning coaching contracts was no longer enough, the deals also had to be guaranteed, lest another school poach your leader.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
31 Oct. 2025
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And none of this money includes what other partner nations pay per year on upkeep of their modules and the care, feeding, and training of crews, ballooning the overall cost further.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The enduring moment of the game is probably the deep touchdown pass between Shough and Chris Olave — the one that saw Olave shrugging off cornerback Jaycee Horn and then scampering into the end zone, then jumping into a Panthers field-side fan section.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Nov. 2025
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In one impressive video, the teenager could be seen jumping over a large hill on her bike before zooming around a corner.—
Hannah Sacks,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inflating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inflating. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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