Skip to the word

Added 10 October 2026

deflate

/diːˈfleɪt/ verb

In Latin: exanimō Coined: 1891 Wiktionary

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about deflate at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To remove air or some other gas from within an elastic container, e.g. a balloon or tyre.
To cause an object to decrease or become smaller in some parameter, e.g. to shrink
To reduce the amount of available currency or credit and thus lower prices.

Origin

From de- + (in)flate. Coined in 1891, in reference to balloons. Equivalent to Latin dē- (“away, from”) + Latin flō (“blow”) + -ate (verb-forming suffix).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word