Inflates

Inflates is the third-person singular present tense form of the verb inflate. Inflate means to fill something with air or gas, causing it to become larger, or to enlarge something by introducing a substance that expands it. The term can also be used metaphorically to describe increasing the apparent size, importance, or value of something. The noun form is inflation, and related devices or actions include inflator or inflation pump.

Origins: Inflate comes from Latin inflatus, the past participle of inflare, meaning “to blow into.” English adoption occurred in the early modern period, with the sense expanding to include both physical expansion and metaphorical use.

Usage: The word appears in contexts such as inflating a balloon, tire, raft, or other object that requires air or gas to achieve shape. It is also used in medical or physiological contexts where organs or cavities fill with air or fluid, and in technical writing to describe expansion by pressure or gas generation.

Metaphorical and economic uses: Beyond literal filling, inflates can describe artificial enlargement of quantities, values, or influence. Phrases like “inflates the numbers” or “inflates the market” convey growth that may be exaggerated or unsustainable, often with a critical or analytical nuance.

See also: inflate, inflation, inflatable, inflator.