enhance
Americanverb (used with object)
-
enhances,
present (3rd person singular)
-
enhanced,
past participle, past
-
enhancing
present participle
verb
Usage
What does enhance mean? To enhance is to raise to a higher degree, such as to magnify or intensify something. To enhance a photo, for example, is to improve the colors, lighting, or other characteristics in order to improve the photo. Generally speaking, enhancing somehow makes something better. Something that is enhanced has its intensity, value, or size increased. To enhance is also to increase the value or price of something. A tie might not be very valued just for being a tie, for example. But if that tie was worn by someone famous, the tie’s value is enhanced because that celebrity wore it. Example: Salt is commonly added to dishes to enhance their flavor.
Synonym Usage
See elevate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
enhancesimple
-
enhancessimple
-
have enhancedperfect
-
has enhancedperfect
-
am enhancingprogressive
-
are enhancingprogressive
-
is enhancingprogressive
-
have been enhancingperfect progressive
-
has been enhancingperfect progressive
Past
-
enhancedsimple
-
had enhancedperfect
-
was enhancingprogressive
-
were enhancingprogressive
-
had been enhancingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of enhance
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English enhauncen, from Anglo-French enhauncer, apparently for Old French enhaucer, equivalent to en- en- 1 + haucer “to raise” ( French hausser ) from the unattested Vulgar Latin altiāre (derivative of Latin altus “high,” with h-, from Germanic; see haughty), though -n- is unexplained
Explanation
Many people use the expression "enhance your chance" to point out ways to increase your chances of winning or earning a contest or prize. When you enhance something, you heighten it or make it better. "Hance" is not a word, but the addition of "en-" does something to enhance it and improve its sound. You can enhance the size of something, too, by altering it or raising it, which is what the word original meant (the "hance" part came via French from Latin altus, meaning "high"). When you enhance something you take it to a higher level, like adding salt to French fries to enhance flavor or adding words to enhance your vocabulary.
Vocabulary lists containing enhance
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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List 10
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Tears of a Tiger
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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:
The NFL remains committed to ensuring that the NFL community has access to a robust - and expanding - set of resources to enhance their physical and mental well being.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Funds will also be used to enhance brand awareness and strengthen the company’s global presence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
These acquisitions enhance its geographic diversification, complement existing operations, and are expected to be earnings accretive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
And that’s his persistent campaign to preserve Social Security — indeed, to enhance it so it serves today’s workers as well or better than it has served Americans since its enactment in 1935.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Gradually, the theater emptied, Mr. Turner shouting to us that we, at least, must remain stationary and minimize, rather than enhance, the violence of the rout.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
"Diversifying energy supplies, including with abundant US sources, enhances regional stability and prosperity."
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Kyle Shanahan must believe the olfactory exhilaration of smelling salts enhances his coaching ability.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
"Aerial support complements the extensive work already being undertaken by firefighters and partner agencies on the ground and enhances our ability to limit the spread of fire where conditions allow."
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
When it comes to AI, it would be smart to show that it enhances your problem-solving abilities.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
Her face softens with a kindness that enhances her beauty.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
But the two countries, which in June signed an enhanced cooperation agreement regarding military mobility, logistics, Baltic Sea security, and cybersecurity, emphasise such cooperation is necessary to ensure peace.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
The notion that this enhanced surveillance increases safety doesn’t actually hold up, though.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
Vita Tzykun’s design, enhanced by Thomas C. Hase’s moody lighting and Devario D. Simmons’s period costumes, has six sets of file cabinets that reverse to form a kitchen or a bedroom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Pandemic-era enhanced subsidies expired on Dec. 31, 2025.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Nonetheless, games and songs were developed in their entirety or at least greatly enhanced by the creativity of children.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
The technology works by helping water droplets form more easily and detach more quickly, a combination that could improve energy efficiency in power plants and desalination facilities while also enhancing the cooling of electronic devices.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
"For Wada to put anything on the list, it's got to hit two out of three criteria: dangerous to health, performance enhancing, and against the spirit of sport," Close explains.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
“We got the good news that it wasn’t enhancing and we got the concerning news that it still was something. It wasn’t nothing,” Pitt said on the podcast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
“We’re always enhancing our fraud and scam prevention program as criminals find new ways to target consumers,” the JPMorgan spokeswoman said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
She knew that these classes were enhancing her students’ reading levels, their understanding of the world, their souls.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
