inflating

verb

present participle of inflate
1
as in increasing
to make greater in size, amount, or number Check that you have inflated your tires to the recommended pressure. Some sellers were inflating their prices by as much as 500 per cent.

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2
as in accelerating
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number Airbags are designed to inflate automatically on impact.

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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 inflating The guideline seeks to avoid clubs inflating their bottom lines through what the governing body terms ‘player exchange transactions’. — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026 The Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court convicted Hui, also known as Xu Jiayin, and Evergrande of engaged in large-scale financial fraud in inflating the group’s assets and concealing its liabilities. — ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026 This goes way beyond the fact Trump is the only president found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records and liable for fraudulently inflating the value of his assets to defraud banks and insurers. — Max Taves, Mercury News, 14 Aug. 2026 Some argued that institutional investors were pushing owner-occupants out of the market and inflating home prices. — Diana Olick, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2026 According to Lu, Bo became increasingly suspicious that Wang, the project manager, had stolen from him by inflating construction costs. — Hailey Wang, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026 But the company’s meteoric rise ground to a halt after a former Outcome analyst contacted the Wall Street Journal with allegations that the company was misleading pharmaceutical companies and inflating data. — Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026 One engineer admitted to inflating usage after a performance review dinged them for not using AI enough. — Vinay Kuruvila, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 But he has been accused of inflating his role in some projects and demonstrating a self-confidence that borders on cockiness. — Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inflating
  1. increasing
  2. accelerating
  3. raising
  4. expanding
  5. rising
  6. swelling
  7. ballooning
  8. jumping
Verb
  • The team stopped at 800 N because increasing the load further would require additional protective equipment, with a separate destructive limit test planned.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Rattlesnake sightings are increasing across Texas, with warnings issued at schools and athletic fields.
    — Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of increasing
Verb
  • Insulet’s international growth has been accelerating, with revenue rising between 30% and 32%, and full-year earnings per share growth anticipated to jump more than 30% from a year earlier.
    — Harvey Stober, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Artificial intelligence is accelerating the trend by helping organizations analyze data faster and act on it more effectively.
    — Dirk Naylor, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of accelerating
Verb
  • Defense attorneys in both cases argued that the defendants’ intent was in question, raising in argument the possibility that their clients were not trying to cause serious bodily injury or death.
    — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Enacting a solution is liable to be a significant political battle, likely involving cutting benefits for some Americans or raising taxes on higher earners, or both.
    — Ashley Lopez, NPR, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of raising
Verb
  • Axel Springer is expanding in the Middle East, joining a growing number of Western publishers with an editorial presence in the region — and testing a key pillar of its editorial beliefs.
    — Max Tani, semafor.com, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Mamdani’s signature 2-K program is scheduled to launch this fall with 2,000 students in select school districts, with the goal of expanding citywide over four years.
    — Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of expanding
Verb
  • The bank said capacity constraints and rising competition are weighing on ASML, but that the stock remains a top pick.
    — Michael Bloom, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Alexandria Eala, a rising global superstar, draws a new Filipino fanbase.
    — Merlisa Lawrence Corbett, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of rising
Verb
  • That mix of showers and storms continue for the rest of the week, ramping up over the weekend, with wet weather chances swelling to 60% Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
    — Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The condition may have caused pain and produced a deformation or swelling on her chest.
    — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of swelling
Verb
  • Such is the fate that befalls Meta, whose shares fell as much as 10% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the company missed earnings due to costs ballooning 55% (Meta’s stock later recovered some ground and was down 7%).
    — Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 30 July 2026
  • So far there’s no sign of that, and time is running out, although to its credit the EU, with its Industrial Accelerator Act, wants urgent action to save local automakers from succumbing to ballooning Chinese sales.
    — Neil Winton, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
Definition of ballooning
Verb
  • This can happen by jumping into water, diving, water-skiing or other water activities.
    — Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Sharks attacking fish, Spider-Man jumping off of a building, Ja Morant putting a poor man on a poster, fighter jets, and Chris Gotterup hitting golf balls; also known as the good stuff.
    — Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of jumping

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Cite this Entry

“Inflating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inflating. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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