INFLATE • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Inflate

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/ɪnflˈeɪt/ Listen

verb

Inflate v. t. (past & past part. inflated; pres. part. inflating)

To swell or distend with air or gas; to dilate; to expand; to enlarge; as, to inflate a bladder; to inflate the lungs. "When passion's tumults in the bosom rise, Inflate the features, and enrage the eyes."

Fig.: To swell; to puff up; to elate; as, to inflate one with pride or vanity. "Inflate themselves with some insane delight."

To cause to become unduly expanded or increased; as, to inflate the currency.

Inflate v. i. To expand; to fill; to distend.

adjective

Inflate adj. Blown in; inflated.

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Etymology of 'Inflate'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Inflate" Quotes from Famous Books

... golden hues as they darted to and fro; the violet and blue medusae, and the cream-colored jelly-fish as big as a watermelon. There were angel fish of a bright blue tinge; yellow snappers; black and white sergeant majors; pilot fish; puff fish which could inflate their bodies until they were round as a ball, or flatten themselves to the ...

— The Search for the Silver City - A Tale of Adventure in Yucatan • James Otis

... replies by tapping her fan on the back of her left hand; one distinct tap for every thousand pounds she possesses. If the number of taps be satisfactory to the gentleman, he must, by a deep inspiration, inflate his lungs so as to cause a visible heaving of his chest, and then, fixing his eyes upon the chandelier, slap his forehead with an expression of suicidal determination. This is a very difficult signal, which will require some practice to ...

— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 1, August 14, 1841 • Various

... occasions of exercising these are rare, yet all aspire to them because they are brilliant and their names high sounding. Very often, too, people fancy that they are able, even now, to practise them. They inflate their courage with the vain opinion they have of themselves, but when put to the trial fail pitiably. They are like those children of Ephrem, who distinguished themselves wonderfully by, in the time of peace, hitting the target with every arrow, ...

— The Spirit of St. Francis de Sales • Jean Pierre Camus

... real value is derived by persons in general from a wide and various reading; but still more deeply convinced as to the actual 'mischief' of unconnected and promiscuous reading, and that it is sure, in a greater or less degree, to enervate even where it does not likewise inflate; I hope to satisfy many an ingenuous mind, seriously interested in its own development and cultivation, how moderate a number of volumes, if only they be judiciously chosen, will suffice for the attainment of ...

— The Life of Samuel Taylor Coleridge - 1838 • James Gillman

... of the agitators does sometimes serve to inflate wages; I'll say that for the beggars. ...

— The Record of Nicholas Freydon - An Autobiography • A. J. (Alec John) Dawson

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