aufgeblasene

Aufgeblasene is a form of the German adjective built from the verb aufblasen, which means to blow up or inflate. In usage it functions attributively to describe something that has been inflated, or, figuratively, something that is pompous or exaggerated. The specific ending of the form depends on gender and number of the noun it modifies. Typical cases include feminine singular, as in eine aufgeblasene Blase (a blown-up bubble), and plural, as in aufgeblasene Blasen (inflated bubbles) or aufgeblasene Reden (pompous speeches).

In everyday language, aufgeblasene can carry a figurative nuance. For example, eine aufgeblasene Rede or eine aufgeblasene Persönlichkeit describes rhetoric or behavior that is boastful, self-important, or exaggerated beyond its merits. The term is therefore common in journalism, critique, and informal speech when commenting on displays of vanity or inflated claims.

Grammatically, aufgeblasene is the attributive form of the past participle aufgeblasen, derived from the prefix auf- and the verbblasen (to blow up). The ending shown—-e—occurs in feminine singular (eine aufgeblasene Blase) and in plural forms (aufgeblasene Blasen). Other gender-number combinations use different endings according to standard German adjective declension rules.

Etymology and semantics aside, aufblasene remains a descriptive term across physical and metaphorical contexts: objects inflated by air or gas, and people or statements that are perceived as being blown out of proportion.