puff up

arruffare il pelo, gonfiare le piume

Sollevare il pelo o le piume per sembrare più grandi o mantenersi al caldo.

In inglese semplice: To raise fur or feathers so that an animal looks bigger or stays warm.

• The bird puffed up its feathers.
• Our cat puffed up when it saw the dog.
• Sparrows puff themselves up to stay warm.

Come si usa: puff up something (The cat puffed up its fur.); puff oneself up (The little bird puffed itself up against the cold.)

Sinonimi: fluff up, bristle

Espressioni comuni: puff up feathers, puff up fur, puff itself up

gonfiare

Rendere qualcosa più grande o pieno mettendoci aria.

In inglese semplice: To make something larger or fuller by putting air into it.

• He puffed up his cheeks.
• We puffed up the balloons for the party.
• Can you puff your cheeks up like this?

Come si usa: puff something up (She puffed her cheeks up and held her breath.)

Sinonimi: inflate, blow up

Contrari: deflate

Espressioni comuni: puff up balloons, puff up cheeks, puff something up

gonfiarsi

Diventare più grande e gonfio a causa di una ferita o malattia.

In inglese semplice: To become larger and swollen because of an injury or illness.

• My ankle puffed up after the fall.
• Her eyes had puffed up because of an allergy.
• Did your hand puff up after the bee sting?

Sinonimi: swell, swell up

Espressioni comuni: puff up suddenly, puff up badly

insuperbirsi, inorgoglirsi

Diventare molto orgoglioso di sé, spesso in modo eccessivo.

In inglese semplice: To become very proud of yourself, often more than is reasonable.

• The praise puffed him up.
• She was puffed up with pride after her promotion.
• Success can puff people up and make them forget their friends.

Come si usa: be puffed up with something (He was puffed up with pride after winning the award.); puff someone up (All that praise puffed him up.)

Sinonimi: swell with pride, get conceited

Espressioni comuni: puff someone up, puff yourself up

inventare, montare

Inventare affermazioni false o farle sembrare più gravi di quanto siano.

In inglese semplice: To invent false claims or make them seem more serious than they really are.

• They puffed up false charges against him.
• The report puffed up minor complaints into serious accusations.
• His enemies puffed up a case using invented evidence.

Come si usa: puff up something against someone (They puffed up charges against an innocent man.)

Sinonimi: trump up, fabricate

Espressioni comuni: puff up charges, puff up accusations, puff something up