magnify
to increase the apparent size of, as a lens does.
to make greater in actual size; enlarge: to magnify a drawing in preparing for a fresco.
to cause to seem greater or more important; attribute too much importance to; exaggerate: to magnify one's difficulties.
to make more exciting; intensify; dramatize; heighten: The playwright magnified the conflict to get her point across.
Archaic. to extol; praise: to magnify the Lord.
to increase or be able to increase the apparent or actual size of an object.
Origin of magnify
1Other words for magnify
Opposites for magnify
Other words from magnify
- mag·ni·fi·a·ble, adjective
- o·ver·mag·ni·fy, verb (used with object), o·ver·mag·ni·fied, o·ver·mag·ni·fy·ing.
- re·mag·ni·fy, verb (used with object), re·mag·ni·fied, re·mag·ni·fy·ing.
- un·mag·ni·fied, adjective
- un·mag·ni·fy·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use magnify in a sentence
The barrage and immediacy of these images magnifies these horrors.
The result in all three cases is a chasm between image and performance that magnifies the narrative of dashed expectations.
Even the Most Powerful Man in the World Is at the Mercy of the IT Guy | Jill Lawrence | March 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThough you can let a few in on it, know that keeping your white-witchery under wraps only magnifies its power.
He is well nourished, but seems to have been worried into a system of small deceptions which the woman magnifies into deadly sins.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II | Rudyard KiplingThe twist of a great wrong in a man's character distorts his vision; and if he has a tender conscience he magnifies his misdeeds.
Mrs. Falchion, Complete | Gilbert Parker
And when thou hast been praised, O Rudra, be gracious to him who magnifies thee, and let thy armies mow down others than us!
Sacred Books of the East | VariousHe warms up as he goes along, and magnifies its importance in a ridiculous way.
The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont | Louis de RougemontThe Law alarms us, it magnifies our sins until we begin to hate the Law and its divine Author.
Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians | Martin Luther
British Dictionary definitions for magnify
/ (ˈmæɡnɪˌfaɪ) /
to increase, cause to increase, or be increased in apparent size, as through the action of a lens, microscope, etc
to exaggerate or become exaggerated in importance: don't magnify your troubles
(tr) rare to increase in actual size
(tr) archaic to glorify
Origin of magnify
1Derived forms of magnify
- magnifiable, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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