inflate. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

inflate

SYLLABICATION:	in·flate
PRONUNCIATION:	n-flt
VERB:	Inflected forms: in·flat·ed, in·flat·ing, in·flates
TRANSITIVE VERB:	1. To fill (something) with air or gas so as to make it swell. 2a. To enlarge or amplify unduly or improperly; aggrandize. b. To raise or expand abnormally or improperly. See synonyms at exaggerate. 3. To cause (a currency or an economy) to undergo inflation.
INTRANSITIVE VERB:	To become inflated.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English inflaten, from Latin nflre, nflt- : in-, in; see in–² + flre, to blow; see bhl- in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS:	in·flator, in·flater —NOUN


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.