Inflated

How to spell inflated

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce inflated

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does inflated mean?

1. adjectiveExpanded or swollen by being filled with air or gas.
2. adjectiveMade to seem larger, higher, or more important than is justified.

Inflated in a sentence

• The fully inflated tyre held its pressure all weekend.

• The tourist shops charge inflated prices for ordinary souvenirs.

• A row of inflated rafts bobbed beside the pool.

• His resume listed wildly inflated figures for past sales.

Where does inflated come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb inflare, meaning 'to blow into' or 'to puff up', formed from the prefix in- 'into' and flare 'to blow'. The past participle of inflare was inflatus, which described something that had been blown full of air, and from there it extended naturally to anything swollen, puffed up, or exaggerated. English adopted the verb 'inflate' in the fifteenth century, and 'inflated' followed as both its past form and an adjective. The same flare root that puffs up a balloon also lies behind 'flatulence' and the musical sense of 'flute', all of them connected by the idea of blowing air. Knowing that inner 'flat' comes from flare, not from the everyday word 'flat', helps explain why the single t and the -ate ending sit where they do.

How the word is built

• in- (into)
• flat- (from Latin flare/flatus: to blow)
• -ed (adjective/past participle suffix)