1
as in collapses
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 empties
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 reduces
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 undermines
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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Recent Examples of deflates
After portraying Alabaster, down to his pearly-white surname, as the apotheosis of white male villainy, Cash deflates him by arguing, essentially, #NotAllMen.
—
Malavika Kannan, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2026
But Grande’s conceited blonde bubblehead gains in stature here as Glinda assumes statesmanlike responsibility to spread goodness in Oz, while experiencing crushing romantic disappointment that humbles her and deflates her vanity.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 18 Nov. 2025
Cade Horton’s late injury scratch deflates some of the vibes, too.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
That determination is sent back to the device, which inflates or deflates balloons with air to assist in raising or lowering the arm.
—Mack Degeurin Aug 21, Popular Science, 21 Aug. 2025
Malavika Kannan, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2026
But Grande’s conceited blonde bubblehead gains in stature here as Glinda assumes statesmanlike responsibility to spread goodness in Oz, while experiencing crushing romantic disappointment that humbles her and deflates her vanity.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 18 Nov. 2025
Cade Horton’s late injury scratch deflates some of the vibes, too.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
That determination is sent back to the device, which inflates or deflates balloons with air to assist in raising or lowering the arm.
—Mack Degeurin Aug 21, Popular Science, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deflates
Verb
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As the video demonstrates, von Ensingen’s drawing (not in the show, alas) collapses all the levels, complete with stairs, setbacks, vaults, and columns, onto a single plane.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
23 Apr. 2026
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For Tottenham, what once felt unthinkable is fast becoming one of the most remarkable collapses the 34-year Premier League era has seen.—
Dean Jones,
New York Times,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
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However, as part of that, the gallbladder empties less frequently and more slowly.—
Cindy Krischer Goodman,
Sun Sentinel,
25 Apr. 2026
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Roborock Robot Vacuum and Mop Deal The Roborock Qrevo is for the elite couch-rot enthusiasts, featuring 8,000Pa HyperForce suction and an all-in-one dock that empties the dust, refills the water, and even washes and dries the mopping pads.—
Juhi Wadia,
PC Magazine,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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This single habit dramatically reduces soap scum, the same buildup that makes tile floors dangerously slippery.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Sacbee.com,
30 Apr. 2026
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This reduces their effectiveness, slowing down your machine and causing long-term damage.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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DeSantis said that provision requires lawmakers to consider race and undermines the Fair Districts Amendment as a whole — paving the legal pathway to getting around the state’s partisan gerrymandering ban altogether.—
Claire Heddles,
Miami Herald,
28 Apr. 2026
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Families and businesses cannot plan ahead, which undermines investment, growth, and prosperity.—
Gregg Nunziata,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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There is this tendency to frame eating disorders as a purely biological phenomenon in a way that kind of evacuates them of all meaning, or actually repels the attempt to create meaning.—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
23 Feb. 2026
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On the morning of January 29, 2024, her family evacuates their homes in Tel al-Hawa in Gaza City.—
E. Alex Jung,
Vulture,
11 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Ernaux’s signature method of resisting interpretation and incarnating the past plunges us into this girl’s experience.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Apr. 2026
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Architectonics takes this murky style and plunges it to a new deep, incorporating the bronze gong and chime sounds of gamelan while burying his rhythms in dense, dubby layers of incense smoke.—
Sam Goldner,
Pitchfork,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Expanding nonmedical exemptions, however, weakens the very protections those medically vulnerable children depend on.—
Sarah Marsicek,
The Orlando Sentinel,
26 Apr. 2026
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Critics say allowing the department to delay or sideline state investigations weakens one of the last independent checks on government lawyers.—
Jaclyn Diaz,
NPR,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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This idea of reasonableness is easily caricatured as moral timidity or a bloodless neutrality that drains politics of passion.—
Nikhil Krishnan,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
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That’s why a fine textured soil, like clay, drains more poorly than does a coarse, sandy soil.—
Paul Cappiello,
Louisville Courier Journal,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deflates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deflates. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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