balloons

verb

present tense third-person singular of balloon
1
as in increases
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number the number of students who stay home sick balloons every winter

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in protrudes
to extend outward beyond a usual point the paper bag ballooned and blew away as the wind lifted it skyward

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of balloons Cut with a curved outer seam that balloons slightly through the thigh before tapering at the ankle, the shape is all about creating volume. — Daisy Maldonado, InStyle, 29 Dec. 2025 The mid-rise jeans have an exaggerated barrel silhouette that balloons out at the knee and tapers into a wide-leg fit at the ankle. — Clara McMahon, PEOPLE, 6 Oct. 2025 The specter of inflation will only reappear if the Fed balloons the money supply. — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for balloons
  1. increases
  2. protrudes
  3. rises
  4. pokes
  5. swells
  6. bulges
  7. expands
  8. bags
Verb
  • Virgo August 23 – September 22 Your energy increases with a small tweak to your routine.
    — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 26 Aug. 2026
  • August 23 – September 22 Your energy increases with a small tweak to your routine.
    — Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of increases
Verb
  • Anything that protrudes above the shallow, insulating snow cover is more prone to being damaged by the cold and wind or eaten by wildlife, said plant ecologist Anne Bjorkman of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Other animals on-site include a stable full of horses and Cowboy the tortoise, who is about the size of a lawnmower and whose head protrudes from what looks like a Venus flytrap made of bone.
    — Emma Madden, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of protrudes
Verb
  • The damage to the sport, in terms of lost revenues and fan disengagement, rises the more games that are missed.
    — Evan Drellich, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • That stored energy could then be recovered when electricity demand rises.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of rises
Verb
  • Even in the bathrooms, the toilet and bidet are concealed inside a kind of Travertine bench and the showerhead pokes out from a monolithic stone slab.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Aug. 2026
  • This is strong language, which pokes at our tribal memory of gasoline shortages from the 1970’s.
    — George Calhoun, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
Definition of pokes
Verb
  • While the hurricane is not expected to make landfall, swells created by the hurricane could affect the coast of southwest Mexico and Baja California, as well as Southern California, per the National Hurricane Center.
    — Julia Gomez, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026
  • While Karina was expected to stay well away from land, swells from the storm were likely to cause dangerous surf and rip current conditions along parts of southwest Mexico and the Baja California Peninsula, the hurricane center said.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of swells
Verb
  • According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a brain aneurysm is a weakened area in an artery that bulges outward and fills with blood.
    — Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Definition of bulges
Verb
  • The event comes as China expands its robotics industry and competes to establish leadership in humanoid and autonomous machines, with more than 2,000 robots from 16 countries also taking part in the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Now about 5½ months old, Crimson is thriving on three legs, quickly returning to playful, curious cub behavior as the Oakland Zoo expands its track record of rescuing orphaned mountain lions.
    — Jasmine Mendez Follow, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of expands
Verb
  • Bean bags that land on the board without first touching the ground or falling off are worth one point.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Drizzilicious took their already-craveworthy birthday cake mini rice cakes and added a patriotic twist with their America’s 250 Anniversary Edition bags.
    — Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 5 June 2026
Definition of bags

Browse Nearby Words

ballooning
balloons
ballot
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Cite this Entry

“Balloons.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balloons. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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