DEFLATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does deflate mean? 

• DEFLATE (verb)
  The verb DEFLATE has 6 senses:

1. collapse by releasing contained air or gas

2. release contained air or gas from

3. reduce or lessen the size or importance of

4. produce deflation in

5. reduce or cut back the amount or availability of, creating a decline in value or prices

6. become deflated or flaccid, as by losing air

  Familiarity information: DEFLATE used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DEFLATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they deflate    ... he / she / it deflates   
Past simple: deflated   
Past participle: deflated   
-ing form: deflating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Collapse by releasing contained air or gas

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

deflate a balloon

Hypernyms (to "deflate" is one way to...):

collapse (fold or close up)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

deflation (the act of letting the air out of something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Release contained air or gas from

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

deflate the air mattress

Hypernyms (to "deflate" is one way to...):

release; turn (let (something) fall or spill from a container)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

deflation (the act of letting the air out of something)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Reduce or lessen the size or importance of

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

deflate; puncture

Context example:

The bad review of his work deflated his self-confidence

Hypernyms (to "deflate" is one way to...):

deprecate; depreciate; vilipend (belittle)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

deflator (a statistical factor designed to remove the effect of inflation; inflation adjusted variables are in constant dollars)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Produce deflation in

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

The new measures deflated the economy

Hypernyms (to "deflate" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Antonym:

inflate (cause prices to rise by increasing the available currency or credit)

Derivation:

deflation (a contraction of economic activity resulting in a decline of prices)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Reduce or cut back the amount or availability of, creating a decline in value or prices

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

deflate the currency

Hypernyms (to "deflate" is one way to...):

bring down; cut; cut back; cut down; reduce; trim; trim back; trim down (cut down on; make a reduction in)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s somebody

Antonym:

inflate (increase the amount or availability of, creating a rise in value)

Derivation:

deflation (a contraction of economic activity resulting in a decline of prices)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Become deflated or flaccid, as by losing air

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

The balloons deflated

Hypernyms (to "deflate" is one way to...):

decrease; diminish; fall; lessen (decrease in size, extent, or range)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Antonym:

inflate (fill with gas or air)

Derivation:

deflation (the act of letting the air out of something)

 Context examples 

Then, the balloon at the end of the endoscope is deflated, and the endoscope is moved through the next part of the small intestine.

(DBE, NCI Dictionary)

Data showed that Io’s atmosphere begins to “deflate” when the temperatures drop from -235 degrees Fahrenheit in sunlight to -270 degrees Fahrenheit during eclipse.

(New Research Reveals Fluctuating Atmosphere of Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon, NASA)

This month will mark the peak of this difficult aspect, and in many ways, the end of the severity of this aspect as these two planets slowly begin to separate, deflate, and decline in power.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)