amplify
Americanverb (used with object)
-
amplifies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
amplified,
past participle, past
-
amplifying
present participle
-
to make larger, greater, or stronger; enlarge; extend.
-
to expand in stating or describing, as by details or illustrations; clarify by expanding.
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Electricity. to increase the amplitude of; cause amplification in.
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Archaic. to exaggerate.
verb (used without object)
-
amplifies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
amplified,
past participle, past
-
amplifying
present participle
verb
-
(tr) to increase in size, extent, effect, etc, as by the addition of extra material; augment; enlarge; expand
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electronics to produce amplification of (electrical signals); increase the amplitude of (signals)
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(tr) to exaggerate
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(intr) to expand or enlarge a speech, narrative, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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amplifysimple
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amplifiessimple
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have amplifiedperfect
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has amplifiedperfect
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am amplifyingprogressive
-
are amplifyingprogressive
-
is amplifyingprogressive
-
have been amplifyingperfect progressive
-
has been amplifyingperfect progressive
Past
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amplifiedsimple
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had amplifiedperfect
-
was amplifyingprogressive
-
were amplifyingprogressive
-
had been amplifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of amplify
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English amplifyen, from Middle French amplifier, from Latin amplificāre “to increase, augment”; equivalent to ample + -ify
Explanation
The verb amplify means to crank up the volume. Speakers amplify, or raise, the volume of the noise coming through a microphone so that everyone at the rock show can hear. Amplify comes from the Old French word amplifier meaning "to enlarge or expand." It refers to making a sound “expand,” but it can also crank up something like a disagreement — if you spread rumors, you might amplify an argument. It can “enlarge” an idea — if you don't realize how bad your health is, your doctor might amplify your test results by explaining them to you in simple, and possibly frightening terms.
Vocabulary lists containing amplify
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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:
“As a global pop superstar, Rosé will amplify the spirit of the evening with her incomparable talent and style.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
"To overcome this limitation, we introduced a terahertz split-ring resonator. Such a dark cavity can reshape the electromagnetic environment and substantially amplify vacuum fluctuations."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026
The study found that audience feedback on the event was "overwhelmingly positive", while media and digital coverage helped to amplify Manchester's profile on a global stage.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Social media made hyping them much easier because thousands of bots or unwitting strangers could help amplify a well-crafted effort.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
In theory, it could amplify itself around the world in the human species.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
"The Earth-ionosphere cavity acts as a natural resonator that amplifies electromagnetic waves right around the mass range we wanted to probe."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
His intentional balance of silence and audio amplifies one of the movie’s most famous moments, Adenoid Hynkel’s gibberish speech, into a bombastic, hilarious aural onslaught.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
The Rumbler interacts with a standard police siren, which generates around 110 to 120 decibels, and amplifies that sound through its speakers in eight-second intervals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
“Workers see the headlines, hear about their friends. Crucially they hear about workers having incredibly hard times getting back into jobs, which amplifies the risk of being laid off,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Bobby Ryan amplifies her point: “We’re not typical theater kids, and we don’t want to be typical theater kids.”
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
Trump has described Zacharia as an “attorney,” as did chyrons for TV appearances that Zacharia amplified on social media, CNN reports.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
Sortor posted a short audio clip, and Elon Musk amplified the claim repeatedly from his account.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026
Born from Wolf’s real frustrations in a long-term relationship, the melodramatic hit bubbles with acoustic guitar and low, vocal flip-laced mourning to amplified crescendos, replete with punchy garage-rock drumming and Wolf’s howling chorus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Tightening financial conditions have amplified concerns about the fiscal health of advanced economies such as the U.S., sending bond yields to multiyear highs—one of the clearest alarm bells markets can ring.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
In the distance ahead of them, Annabeth began to hear a throbbing sound, like her own heartbeat echoing back, amplified so powerfully, the floor vibrated underfoot.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
“Any media outlet blindly amplifying Kimmel’s egocentric delusion should insist on proof. Of which they will find none.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
She will be remembered for amplifying the voices of women in a way that mainstream media at the time either could not, or would not.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
“AI is amplifying the value of our entire platform,” Robin Washington, chief financial and chief operating officer at Salesforce, told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
"Europe is associated, in young people's minds, with success and upward social mobility," she said, adding that social media played a key "amplifying role".
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
White immigrants, in contrast, were not so easy to identify and separate, thus amplifying the anxieties of ethnic contamination and miscegenation in the 1920s.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
