enlarge
Americanverb (used with object)
-
enlarges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
enlarged,
past participle, past
-
enlarging
present participle
-
to make larger; increase in extent, bulk, or quantity; add to.
They enlarged the house by adding an east wing.
- Antonyms:
- diminish
-
to increase the capacity or scope of; expand.
We've decided to enlarge the company.
- Antonyms:
- contract
-
to make (a photographic print) larger than the negative by projecting the negative's image through a lens onto photographic printing paper.
verb (used without object)
-
enlarges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
enlarged,
past participle, past
-
enlarging
present participle
-
to grow larger; increase; expand.
-
to speak or write at large; expatiate.
to enlarge upon a point.
verb
-
to make or grow larger in size, scope, etc; increase or expand
-
(tr) to make (a photographic print) of a larger size than the negative
-
(intr; foll by on or upon) to speak or write (about) in greater detail; expatiate (on)
Usage
What are other ways to say enlarge?
To enlarge something is to make it larger or to add to it. How does enlarge differ from increase and augment? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
enlargednessnoun
-
reenlargeverb
-
preenlargeverb (used with object)
-
enlargeableadjective
-
unenlargedadjective
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unenlargingadjective
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enlargedlyadverb
-
enlarginglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
enlargesimple
-
enlargessimple
-
have enlargedperfect
-
has enlargedperfect
-
am enlargingprogressive
-
are enlargingprogressive
-
is enlargingprogressive
-
have been enlargingperfect progressive
-
has been enlargingperfect progressive
Past
-
enlargedsimple
-
had enlargedperfect
-
was enlargingprogressive
-
were enlargingprogressive
-
had been enlargingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of enlarge
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English enlargen, from Old French enlargir, enlarger. See en- 1, large
Explanation
When you enlarge something, you make it bigger. If you build a huge addition on the side of your house, you enlarge it. You can enlarge a sand castle by dumping another bucket of sand on it, or enlarge your hairdo by curling and teasing it. When a photographer enlarges a photograph, she blows it up, or prints a much larger copy of it, and you can also enlarge an idea, or someone's understanding of it, by clarifying or explaining it. The Old French root of enlarge is enlargier, "to widen, increase, or make larger."
Vocabulary lists containing enlarge
myPerspectives 7.3
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: en-, em-
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"E-Readers Catch Younger Eyes and Go in Backpacks"
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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:
Measles can cause the spleen to enlarge, making it more likely to rupture.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Online, some infectious disease doctors are critical of the details shared by the coroner because they say measles can cause the spleen to enlarge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
The very history he so powerfully invokes to explain the 14th Amendment’s origins often becomes, in his jurisprudence, a reason to limit rather than enlarge its reach.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
The team also discovered that EXO1 works alongside another protein called MRE11 to enlarge DNA gaps and generate dangerous DNA breaks.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 20, 2026
Now I double-click on the first photos and enlarge them to full screen.
From "Legend" by Marie Lu
The perspective suddenly enlarges as William launches an invasion fleet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
In his office, the commanding officer enlarges an image showing a swarm of speedboats carrying out such an attack.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
Far from distorting democracy, this diversity of substantial support often enlarges the range of ideas in public debate.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 24, 2026
When WUS-D1 is turned on early in the formation of wheat flowers, it enlarges the developing floral tissue, allowing extra female structures such as pistils or ovaries to form.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2025
At times of famine, a single blepharisma will begin eating its neighbors; it then enlarges to an immense size and turns into a cannibalistic giant, straight out of any Norse fable.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
But US officials said they were making a fresh effort in an enlarged format, following visits to Moscow and Kyiv by last month by Witkoff, Trump's business friend-turned-roving envoy, and the president's son-in-law Kushner.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
If an atomic nucleus were enlarged to the size of a football stadium, the experiment's highest resolution would be fine enough to distinguish features only a few yards wide on the field.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026
He clutched a photo of his late wife that had been enlarged for the television cameras.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
MPS said the enlarged group would become Italy’s third-largest by total assets with a pro forma balance sheet of around 466 billion euros.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
On our ride into Havana, I got my first glimpse of a political billboard, an enlarged version of the famous photograph of the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara wearing a beret.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Constructing an accurate, full-scale replica involves far more than enlarging a drawing or arranging generic bones into a dramatic pose.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
Public policy should cultivate more participants rather than enlarging the opportunities available to the biggest players already at the table.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Much of the conservation effort is focused on protecting and enlarging the habitats butterflies need to survive, particularly in the face of land-use changes, including the intensification of farming and environmental degradation.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2026
But if your elastic wrapping paper has a pattern on it, stretching it this way will distort the pattern, enlarging some parts and not others.
From Slate ● Jan. 21, 2026
His hands were growing, his head was enlarging, and where baby fuzz had once covered a pale new scalp, now long tentacles were emerging.
From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo
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