BALLOON Synonyms: 72 Similar and Opposite Words

balloon

verb

Definition of balloon

as in to increase

to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number the number of students who stay home sick balloons every winter

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to protrude

to extend outward beyond a usual point the paper bag ballooned and blew away as the wind lifted it skyward

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of balloon But the 2026 El Niño, accelerated by climate change, has ballooned into the largest on record, causing intense heat waves, floods and droughts throughout the world. — Luke Parker, Baltimore Sun, 12 Oct. 2026 The Frow Is the Show For many brands, the front row has ballooned in size, importance, or both, with return on invite closely monitored. — Joan Kennedy, Vogue, 12 Oct. 2026 Over the summer, the waitlist for shelter ballooned to more than 200 families. — Nicole Santa Cruz, ProPublica, 9 Oct. 2026 William Blair analyst Sharon Zackfia estimated that its leverage would balloon to about six times if the company paid a 20% premium and sought to finance the potential deal primarily through debt. — Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for balloon

Recent Examples of Synonyms for balloon

Verb

To increase supply, the International Energy Agency agreed on Thursday to release more than 20 million barrels of fuel to the market.

— Arathy Somasekhar Reuters, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026
Preparing multiple missions Manufacturing more rocket hardware will not increase launch frequency unless teams can prepare several missions simultaneously.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of increase

Verb

A couple of sections in the shade, on the home sideline, rose a bit more than 3%.

— Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2026
But then shipping disruptions, rising fuel costs, and steep international tariffs made exporting increasingly difficult, prompting Yu to turn her attention to building a domestic market.

— Victoria Malloy, Time, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of rise

Verb

Ask it to poke holes and give you the strongest case against something.

— Amy O’Brien, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2026
Kessler, standing nearby during Williams’ postgame news conference, poked his head out from behind a black curtain and gave his teammate a thumbs-up.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of poke

Verb

Engineers trying to support swelling AI workloads, video streaming, and cloud services often add thicker cables with more fiber pairs.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026
Hedge fund assets swell With gross assets now standing at about $13 trillion, hedge funds have become an increasingly important part of the global investor landscape, the IMF said on Tuesday.

— Hugh Leask, CNBC, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of swell

Verb

Simmons has yet to make his season debut because of a bulging disk in his back, and Rice injured his hamstring during Kansas City’s Week 4 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

— Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2026
In the grayness that should have been sunrise that morning, dark clouds sagged baggily over the very treetops, bulging as if ready to split under their liquid weight.

— Gerald R. Hunter, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of bulge

Verb

Every clinical breakthrough has cost implications, accelerates the pace of change and widens the gap between what is scientifically possible and what is practical for clinicians delivering care.

— Brad Kreick, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Its performance accelerated the slide of the ANC, once led by Nelson Mandela, which lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since the end of apartheid and was forced to form a coalition government.

— Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of accelerate

Verb

From elevating beds to expanding sections to sliding walls and even entire roofs, these 10 homes transform to get maximum use out of a compact space.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026
Blue Origin is expanding its Florida operations to support a much faster launch schedule, targeting multiple New Glenn flights per week by the end of the decade.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of expand

Browse Nearby Words

ball of wax

balloon

ballooned

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Balloon.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balloon. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of balloon

verb

Example Sentences

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