v.
- expand or cause to expand by filling with air or gas.
- increase by a large or excessive amount.
▸
[usu. as adj. inflated]
exaggerate.
- bring about inflation of (a currency) or in (an economy).
Derivative
- inflatedly adv.
- inflater
(also inflator)
n.
Etymology
ME: from L. inflat-, inflare ‘blow into’, from in- ‘into’ + flare ‘to blow’.