inflate
verb
[ ɪnˈfleɪt ]
• fill (a balloon, tyre, or other expandable structure) with air or gas so that it becomes distended.
• "never use an air line on a garage forecourt to inflate your tyres"
Similar:
blown up,
aerated,
filled,
puffed up,
puffed out,
pumped up,
dilated,
distended,
stretched,
expanded,
engorged,
enlarged,
swollen,
• increase (something) by a large or excessive amount.
• "objectives should be clearly set out so as not to duplicate work and inflate costs"
Similar:
increase,
raise,
put up,
boost,
escalate,
step up,
hike up,
jack up,
bump up,
increased,
raised,
boosted,
high,
excessive,
sky-high,
unreasonable,
unwarranted,
disproportionate,
prohibitive,
outrageous,
overinflated,
exorbitant,
extortionate,
over the odds,
over the top,
OTT,
steep,
• bring about inflation of (a currency) or in (an economy).
• "he has inflated the money supply to allow companies to continue in their old ways"
Origin:
late Middle English: from Latin inflat- ‘blown into’, from the verb inflare, from in- ‘into’ + flare ‘to blow’.
