Meanings
present singular third person insufflates · participle present insufflating · participle past insufflated · past insufflated
- transitiveTo breathe or blow into or on.
- transitivemedicineTo treat by blowing a gas, vapor, or powder into a body cavity.
- transitivemedicineTo inhale (a powder etc.).
2001: Cocaine is usually taken by insufflating the white powdered cocaine sulphate into the nose, which leads to rapid absorption of the drug into the bloodstream. — Leslie Iversen, Drugs: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford 2001, p. 98)
Synonyms: snort
- transitiveecclesiasticalTo exhale upon baptismal water, or the one being baptised, as a ritual act.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo inhale (a powder etc.).
Origin
- Latinīnsufflātus
- Englishinsufflate
First attested in 1670; borrowed from Latin īnsufflātus, perfect passive participle of īnsufflō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)) from in- + sufflō (“to blow on”). Cognate with French insuffler.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
insufflate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/insufflate
“insufflate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/insufflate. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “insufflate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/insufflate.
Source: insufflate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.