Biblical Lexicon

φῡσιόω G5448

V-PIM/P-3S | 7× in 2 senses

To puff up with pride or conceit; in the passive, to be inflated with arrogance. A distinctly Pauline term for spiritual pride.

Phusioo derives from phusa ('bellows, breath') and evokes the image of something being blown up like a balloon — inflated beyond its natural size. Paul claims this word almost entirely for himself in the New Testament, wielding it as a sharp diagnostic for the spiritual disease of Corinth. Six of its seven occurrences appear in 1 Corinthians, where factionalism, tolerance of immorality, and intellectual boasting all manifest as being 'puffed up.' The memorable contrast in 1 Corinthians 8:1 — 'knowledge puffs up, but love builds up' — pairs inflation against construction, vanity against substance. Spanish captures the image vividly with 'infla' (active) and 'inflados' (passive).

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Senses

1. be puffed up, be arrogant (passive/middle) — To be puffed up with conceit, inflated with arrogance (passive/middle voice). This covers the bulk of Pauline usage where the Corinthians are the subjects of spiritual inflation: being puffed up in favor of one leader against another (1 Cor 4:6), being arrogant as though Paul would not come (1 Cor 4:18-19), being puffed up rather than grieving over immorality (1 Cor 5:2), and love's defining quality of not being puffed up (1 Cor 13:4). Spanish 'inflados' and 'se-envanece' both capture the passive state of swollen pride. 6×

MORAL_QUALITY › Moral and Ethical Qualities › Pride and Arrogance

AR["المُنْتَفِخينَ", "انْتَفَخَ", "تَنتَفِخُ", "تَنْتَفِخونَ", "مُنتَفِخًا", "مُنْتَفِخونَ"]·ben["ফুলে-ওঠে", "ফুলে-ওঠে,", "ফেপে-উঠেছে", "ফেপে-ওঠ", "ফেপে-ওঠা", "ফেপে-ওঠাদের,"]·DE["aufgeblasen-sein"]·EN["being-puffed-up", "having-been-puffed-up", "is-puffed-up", "were-puffed-up", "you-be-puffed-up"]·FR["enfler", "φυσιούμενος"]·heb["הִתְגַּאֲוּ", "הַמְנֻפָּחִים", "מְנֻפָּחִים", "מִתְגַּאַה", "נָפוּחַ", "תִּתְנַפְּחוּ"]·HI["फूल-गए", "फूलता-है", "फूले-हुए", "फूले-हुओं-का", "फूलो", "फोओलअ-हुअ"]·ID["disombongkan", "itu-sombong", "menjadi-sombong", "menyombongkan-diri", "yang-menyombongkan-diri"]·IT["gonfiare", "phusioumenos"]·jav["gumunggung", "kang-gumunggung,", "kumingsun", "panjenengan-gumunggung"]·KO["교만하리라", "교만하지", "교만한", "교만한-자들-의", "교만해졌다", "부풀려지면서"]·PT["ensoberbeceram-se", "ensoberbecidos", "inchado", "que-estão-ensoberbecidos", "se-ensoberbece,", "vos-ensoberbeceis"]·RU["надмеваемый", "надмевается", "надмевались", "надмевающиеся", "надувшихся", "надулись"]·ES["inflados", "se-envanece", "se-inflaron", "seáis-inflados", "siendo-hinchado"]·SW["akijivuna", "haujivuni", "mmejivuna", "msijivune", "waliojivuna,", "wengine-wamejivuna"]·TR["ama-", "kabaran", "şişinir", "şişinmiş"]·urd["پھول-گئے", "پھولا-ہوا", "پھولتی", "پھولو", "پھولے-ہوئوں-کا", "پھولے-ہوئے"]

1 Cor 4:6, 1 Cor 4:18, 1 Cor 4:19, 1 Cor 5:2, 1 Cor 13:4, Col 2:18

2. puff up, make arrogant (active) — To cause someone to be puffed up, to inflate with pride (active voice). In 1 Cor 8:1, 'knowledge puffs up' — gnosis is the active agent that inflates the ego, set in deliberate contrast with love that 'builds up' (oikodomei). The active voice places responsibility on the thing that causes the arrogance rather than on the person who experiences it. Spanish 'infla' preserves the active causative force, while German 'aufgeblasen-sein' blends both voices. 1×

MORAL_QUALITY › Moral and Ethical Qualities › Pride and Arrogance

AR["تُنْفِخُ"]·ben["ফুলিয়ে-তোলে,"]·DE["aufgeblasen-sein"]·EN["puffs-up"]·FR["enfler"]·heb["מְנַפַּחַת"]·HI["फुलाता-है"]·ID["menyombongkan,"]·IT["gonfiare"]·jav["gumunggung,"]·KO["교만하게-한다"]·PT["incha,"]·RU["надмевает,"]·ES["infla"]·SW["yanakujaza-kiburi,"]·TR["şişirir"]·urd["پھلاتا-ہے"]

1 Cor 8:1

BDB / Lexicon Reference

φῡσιόω, (φῦσα) puff up, NT:—passive, πρὸς τὰ θέματα πεφυσιωμένος NT+1st c.BC+