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
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
The same metric that inflates benefits in some regulatory contexts, understates them in others.
—James Broughel, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
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
The same metric that inflates benefits in some regulatory contexts, understates them in others.
—James Broughel, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inflates
Verb
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This greatly increases the surface area available for electrochemical reactions and enables faster charging and discharging while maintaining high power density in an extremely small footprint.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Apr. 2026
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Across the spectrum, increases to bonus payouts ranged from 6% to 43%, with a median of 13%, and an average increase of 12%.—
Amanda Gerut,
Fortune,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Indeed, emerging evidence suggests that early detection and aggressive treatment of psychiatric symptoms may improve long-term outcomes by delaying the onset of clinical neurodegeneration and mitigating the cumulative biological stress that accelerates brain aging.—
Eric J. Nestler,
STAT,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Collagen loss accelerates, cell turnover slows, and deep wrinkles become more prominent.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Kansas City Star,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The comments around cyber risks come as emergence of Anthropic's Mythos is setting up a scramble from the banking industry to gain access and test the technology, as regulators rush to examine the cybersecurity risks the new AI model raises.—
USA Today,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
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Critics say that practice raises prices for buyers and hurts the state’s homeownership rate.—
Stephen Hobbs,
Sacbee.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The deal also expands surveillance capabilities through drones, helicopters and electronic monitoring to better prevent crossing attempts.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 Apr. 2026
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These rubbery, firm nodules are called keloids, which are poorly understood skin growths that result from wound healing that goes awry and expands beyond the borders of the original wound.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Rare earth demand rises The ubiquity of rare earth elements means demand keeps rising.—
Anton L. Delgado,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
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From the fiery lake of damnation, Lucifer rises as Satan to seduce humanity’s first parents, Adam and Eve, in the flawless Garden of Eden, triggering the Fall of Man and the loss of Paradise itself.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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And as the brightening world starts to resume familiar form, the glorious chorus swells with the songs of blue tits, goldfinches, chaffinches.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Apr. 2026
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What really surprised the rather unflappable ISS and Glass Lewis was a tax reimbursement of $334 million that swells the total payout to $886 million.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inflates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inflates. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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