verb
1.
/ dɪˈfleɪt; NAmE ; ˌdiː-/ [ vn , v ] to let air or gas out of a tyre, balloon , etc.; to become smaller because of air or gas coming out
2.
/dɪˈfleɪt/ [ vn ] [ often passive ] to make sb feel less confident; to make sb/sth feel or seem less important :
All the criticism had left her feeling totally deflated.
3.
/ ˌdiːˈfleɪt/ [ vn ] ( economics ) to reduce the amount of money being used in a country so that prices fall or stay steady
—compare inflate (3), reflate
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WORD ORIGIN
late 19th cent.: from de- (expressing reversal) + -flate (as in inflate ).