magnify
Americanverb (used with object)
-
magnifies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
magnified,
past participle, past
-
magnifying
present participle
-
to increase the apparent size of, as a lens does.
- Antonyms:
- reduce
-
to make greater in actual size; enlarge.
to magnify a drawing in preparing for a fresco.
- Antonyms:
- reduce
-
to cause to seem greater or more important; attribute too much importance to; exaggerate.
to magnify one's difficulties.
- Synonyms:
- overstate
- Antonyms:
- minimize
-
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.
verb (used without object)
-
magnifies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
magnified,
past participle, past
-
magnifying
present participle
verb
-
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
-
rare (tr) to increase in actual size
-
archaic (tr) to glorify
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
overmagnifyverb (used with object)
-
remagnifyverb (used with object)
-
magnifiableadjective
-
unmagnifiedadjective
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unmagnifyingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
magnifysimple
-
magnifiessimple
-
have magnifiedperfect
-
has magnifiedperfect
-
am magnifyingprogressive
-
are magnifyingprogressive
-
is magnifyingprogressive
-
have been magnifyingperfect progressive
-
has been magnifyingperfect progressive
Past
-
magnifiedsimple
-
had magnifiedperfect
-
was magnifyingprogressive
-
were magnifyingprogressive
-
had been magnifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of magnify
1350–1400; Middle English magnifien < Latin magnificāre. See magni-, -fy
Explanation
To magnify is to make something bigger, whether in size or in significance. A magnifying glass makes things look bigger and when anything is magnified, it gets larger in some way. If your hunger is magnified, you've gotten hungrier. Wearing a heavy coat on a hot day will magnify the heat: you're feeling hotter and hotter. Also, non-physical things get magnified. The press could magnify a story by discussing it over and over, making it a bigger story than it was originally. All types of magnifying make things bigger.
Vocabulary lists containing magnify
Space Science (Astronomy) - Introductory
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NASA’s Webb Delivers Deepest Infrared Image of Universe Yet
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That's Great!: Magn
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
At its peak, the fund controlled some $100 billion in assets, supercharged by enormous sums Aschenbrenner borrowed from banks to magnify his AI stock bets, from semiconductors to software.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
A single supermassive black hole can dramatically magnify a background star, but only when the alignment is almost perfect.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2026
While leverage can lead to exponential gains, critics warn it can also magnify losses.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
Leverage can magnify gains — but also amplify losses on the way down.
From MarketWatch ● May 17, 2026
The pain in the back of his head pounded away, threatening to magnify dramatically if he so much as cracked his eyelids.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
Borrowed money magnifies returns when share prices are rising as smaller investors are able to gain far more exposure to the upside, but when share prices fall that leverage exacerbates losses.
From MarketWatch ● May 21, 2026
When a massive object such as a neutron star passes in front of a more distant star, its gravity bends and magnifies the background star's light.
From Science Daily ● May 15, 2026
As in all sports novels, climbing offers the characters a framework for living, and Mr. Tallent magnifies every aspect of its metaphoric potential.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
The prospect of fame magnifies pathologies that have been intensifying over time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2025
“She has put so much energy into this place that it’s practically glowing with it. It magnifies everything that’s alive. I think I’ll be able to feel when you need me.”
From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo
In essence, it is a tourism industry built around the feelings that have made things like roller coasters so popular for a century—but vastly magnified and in spectacular natural settings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
And with that veil ripped off, every emotion they didn’t let themselves feel, every word left unsaid, every last regret, all become instantly magnified, sprawling out before them on an endless road.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
The impact is magnified, he argues, because Inverclyde has a population of just 78,000, having fallen by a fifth in the past 50 years.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Garrett’s influence could be magnified if Donald, a three-time defensive player of the year, ends a two-year retirement to pursue another Super Bowl ring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026
The image magnified a few times, zooming in on my aunt’s trailer.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
But the order will leave its mark by magnifying the confusion many parents already face in making decisions about their children’s immunizations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
"This is especially true if you're using any sort of magnifying lens attachment on the phone."
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
As heavier dark matter particles accumulate in key regions, dark matter substructures become more effective at magnifying the light from distant background galaxies.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
Being able to trade all day and do quirky things like magnifying daily gains and losses are part of their appeal, but their best feature has always been tax efficiency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
One day I went around and took the magnifying glass out of every projector in every classroom.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
