adjective
1. : distended with air or gas
2.
a. : bombastic , pompous
inflated style
b. : exaggerated
inflated statements are made without anyone being able to check them — G.A.Craig
3. : expanded abnormally or unjustifiably in volume
inflated currency
or level
inflated prices
4. : hollow and distended
inflated stem
: open and swelled out or enlarged
inflated perianth
Synonyms:
inflated , flatulent , tumid , and turgid all mean filled with something insubstantial, as air or gas, or something that causes usually abnormal swelling or distention. inflated implies a blowing up to the point of tautness of surface or empty distention
an inflated balloon
or, figuratively, a stretching, expanding, heightening, or puffing up by artificial or empty means
inflated rhetoric
an inflated speech
an inflated opinion of oneself
flatulent , applying chiefly to persons affected by excessive distention by gas of the stomach or bowels, can be extended to apply to anything that is empty or lacking substance but that gives the transparent impression of fullness or substantiality
enthusiasts who read into him all sorts of flatulent bombast — H.L.Mencken
he was an overornate speaker; at his worst he was a purveyor of flatulent claptrap — S.H.Adams
tumid stresses noticeable especially morbid or abnormal enlargement as by swelling or bloating or, figuratively, an empty but marked pretentiousness
his face looked damp, pale under the tan, and slightly tumid — J.G.Cozzens
the genuine scientist would never employ tumid phrases or half-baked simplifications — J.E.Gloag
turgid is similar to tumid without suggesting morbidity but often adds the idea of disorder or especially emotional unrestraint as in the use of bombast, rant, or rhapsody
the book is so turgid, so repetitive, so full of nearly meaningless tables — Geoffrey Gorer
much too much of it dwells on the turgid adventures of a man who marries the less attractive of a pair of sisters and indulges a yen for the other — Henry Hewes
the contrast between the vivid dialogue and the turgid narrative passages — David Greene
a turgid speech praising the political boss