aggrandize

American  

[uh-gran-dahyz, ag-ruhn-dahyz] / əˈgræn daɪz, ˈæg rənˌdaɪz /

especially British, aggrandise

verb (used with object)

aggrandized, aggrandizing

1. to widen in scope; increase in size or intensity; enlarge; extend.

   Antonyms:

   reduce

2. to make great or greater in power, wealth, rank, or honor.

   Synonyms:

   exalt, strengthen, inflate

   Antonyms:

   diminish

3. to make (something) appear greater.

   Synonyms:

   magnify

   Antonyms:

   minimize

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aggrandize British  

/ ˈæɡrənˌdaɪz, əˈɡrænˌdaɪz, əˈɡrændɪzmənt /

verb

1. to increase the power, wealth, prestige, scope, etc, of

2. to cause (something) to seem greater; magnify; exaggerate

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Other Word Forms

• aggrandizement
  noun
• aggrandizer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of aggrandize

1625–35; < French aggrandiss- (long stem of aggrandir to magnify), equivalent to ag- ag- + grand ( see grand) + -iss -ish ², irregular equated with -ize ( def. )

Explanation

If you are a window washer, but you refer to yourself as a "vista enhancement specialist," then you are aggrandizing your job title — that is, making it sound greater than it is. The verb aggrandize not only means "to make appear greater"; it can also be used to mean simply "to make greater." If you buy an estate and sink millions of dollars into its improvement, then you are actually aggrandizing the estate. If you are making yourself seem greater, then people may say you are "self-aggrandizing."

Example Sentences

“Experience shows that it is not wise to trust human cupidity where it has the opportunity to aggrandize itself at the expense of others,” they wrote.

From Barron's • May 2, 2026

“There was never looking for credit, never looking to aggrandize himself,” Rendell told AP.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 21, 2022

It feels odd to talk about, because I don’t want to aggrandize myself.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 20, 2019

Gamers, to protect what they cherish, become defensive and aggrandize games even though the gaming community isn’t perfect, as demonstrated when the author recounted being ridiculed for unconventional choices.

From Washington Post • Nov. 1, 2019

Hence the laws passed by the former method had usually too great a tendency to aggrandize the patricians or rich nobles; and those by the latter had too much of a levelling principle.

From Commentaries on the Laws of England Book the First by Blackstone, William, Sir