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.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
2
as in accelerating
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 inflating
The company argued attorneys were swindling their own clients, inflating medical bills of car crash victims to increase the value of the settlement and then pocketing a hefty chunk of the payouts.
—
Rebecca Ellis,
Los Angeles Times,
26 June 2026
From June of 2004 to July of 2006, as the subprime bubble was inflating, the Fed raised the interest rate 17 times consecutively – a textbook policy of monetary tightening, unprecedented at the time, which should have restrained credit creation.
—
George Calhoun,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2026
Make inflating tires, balls, and wheels simple, fast and stress-free.
—
ABC News,
13 June 2026
Ask Before Inflating Inflatable pool toys are so fun, and the host most likely is fine with them—but do double-check with them before inflating.
—
Wendy Rose Gould,
Martha Stewart,
12 June 2026
In February, Musk folded his AI company, xAI, which makes the anti-liberal Grok and his satellite-internet service, Starlink, into SpaceX, inflating its value.
—
Clara Molot,
Vanity Fair,
10 June 2026
The research touches on the term benchmaxing, which is the practice of inflating AI benchmark scores not through better models, but through better server configurations.
—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
8 June 2026
All while limiting consumer choices and inflating prices for viewing games.
—
Armando Salguero,
FOXNews.com,
8 June 2026
This has combined to make Finals tickets at the Garden even scarcer, inflating prices on the secondary market.
—
Matt Egan,
CNN Money,
3 June 2026
Rebecca Ellis,
Los Angeles Times,
26 June 2026
From June of 2004 to July of 2006, as the subprime bubble was inflating, the Fed raised the interest rate 17 times consecutively – a textbook policy of monetary tightening, unprecedented at the time, which should have restrained credit creation.
—
George Calhoun,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2026
Make inflating tires, balls, and wheels simple, fast and stress-free.
—
ABC News,
13 June 2026
Ask Before Inflating Inflatable pool toys are so fun, and the host most likely is fine with them—but do double-check with them before inflating.
—
Wendy Rose Gould,
Martha Stewart,
12 June 2026
In February, Musk folded his AI company, xAI, which makes the anti-liberal Grok and his satellite-internet service, Starlink, into SpaceX, inflating its value.
—
Clara Molot,
Vanity Fair,
10 June 2026
The research touches on the term benchmaxing, which is the practice of inflating AI benchmark scores not through better models, but through better server configurations.
—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
8 June 2026
All while limiting consumer choices and inflating prices for viewing games.
—
Armando Salguero,
FOXNews.com,
8 June 2026
This has combined to make Finals tickets at the Garden even scarcer, inflating prices on the secondary market.
—
Matt Egan,
CNN Money,
3 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inflating
Verb
-
But the increasing tanker traffic is an encouraging step toward normalization of global oil flows.
-
Hulls said the fund allows property owners to support local businesses without dramatically increasing rents as market conditions change.
Verb
-
Starting in the late 1950s and accelerating in the 1970s, several states enacted laws that required a date label on certain foods.
-
The right question to ask early on is whether the rate of experimentation and the surfacing of new use cases are accelerating month over month.
Verb
-
The way the loss came about should be raising alarm bells inside the US camp.
-
Forming partnerships with like-minded organizations is critical to raising brand awareness, accessing new markets and multiplying impact.
Verb
-
From Sunday school to public school In recent years, Texas leaders have broadly eliminated studies of racial and cultural diversity while expanding the schools’ abilities to introduce Christianity to students.
-
The company is also expanding its Customer Acceleration Program, which allows enterprises to evaluate humanoid robots and prepare for large-scale deployment.
Verb
-
The camp is open to rising high school juniors and seniors, and most of the attendees were from Lake and Porter counties.
-
By Saturday the official death toll had climbed past 1,400, with thousands injured and tens of thousands reported missing—figures the authorities acknowledged were still rising.
Verb
-
Rough weather rolled over the Colorado community of Evergreen on Wednesday night, swelling Bear Creek and tributaries and tossing debris and mud into homes and downtown.
-
Symptoms can be mild to severe and range from nausea, itching, abdominal pain, swelling of the lips to life-threatening symptoms such as wheezing, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.
Verb
-
The two candidates also are offering differing solutions for the country’s struggling health system, ballooning public debt and entrenched corruption.
-
The two candidates also are offering differing solutions for the country's struggling health system, ballooning public debt and entrenched corruption.
Verb
-
Metro Detroit drivers might notice gas station prices jumping 10 to 20 cents a gallon around July 1.
-
But jumping back in too quickly or pushing yourself too hard are some of the fastest ways to get injured.
Cite this Entry
“Inflating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inflating. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
