Inflatable

How to spell inflatable

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce inflatable

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does inflatable mean?

1. adjectiveCapable of being filled with air or gas to expand and hold a shape.
2. nounAn object, such as a boat, toy, or float, designed to be filled with air.

Inflatable in a sentence

• adjective

  The camping shop sells an inflatable mattress that packs down small.

• noun

  The party company hired out a giant inflatable for the school fair.

• adjective

  They bought an inflatable pool for the children to use in the garden.

• noun

  She dragged a colourful inflatable down to the water's edge.

Where does inflatable come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb inflare, which combined in-, meaning 'into', with flare, meaning 'to blow'. The literal idea was to blow air into something so that it swelled up. English took the verb 'inflate' in the early seventeenth century, using it both for filling things with air and, by extension, for puffing up prices or a person's pride. The adjective 'inflatable' was formed later by adding the productive suffix -able, meaning 'able to be', so the word literally describes something that can be blown up. The same flare root quietly survives in relatives such as 'flatulence' and 'soufflé', the latter being French for something blown up; remembering that the ending is the common -able, not -ible, is the main spelling cue.

How the word is built

• in- (into)
• flat- (from Latin flare, to blow)
• -able (capable of)