inflate
pronunciation
How to pronounce inflate in British English:
UK [ɪnˈfleɪt]
How to pronounce inflate in American English:
US [ɪnˈfleɪt]
-
- Verb:
- fill with gas or air
- exaggerate or make bigger
- cause prices to rise by increasing the available currency or credit
- increase the amount or availability of, creating a rise in value
- become inflated
Word Origin
- inflate
- inflate: [16] Inflate comes from inflātus, the past participle of Latin inflāre ‘blow into’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix in- and flāre ‘blow’ (a distant relative of English blow). The use of inflate and inflation as technical terms in economics to denote uncontrolled growth in money supply, credit, etc originated in 1830s America.=> blow
- inflate (v.)
- early 15c., "cause to swell," from Latin inflatus, past participle of inflare "to blow into, inflate" (see inflation). Economics sense from 1844. In some senses a back-formation from inflation. Related: Inflatable; inflated; inflating.
Antonym
Example
- 1. The bubble did not only inflate asset prices , it also inflated pay .
- 2. Savers seeking to avoid being fleeced by the country 's banks inflate housing bubbles instead .
- 3. Bubbles inflate precisely because people fail to recognise that they are living with dangerous imbalances .
- 4. Guys tend to let the confidence of a one-night stand inflate their egos , sometimes in a demeaning way .
- 5. Or they could let their currencies fall and ease rates . But that would inflate the burden of foreign-currency debt , crippling borrowers too .