intensify

[in-ten-suh-fahy]

See more synonyms for intensify on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), in·ten·si·fied, in·ten·si·fy·ing.

to make intense or more intense.
to make more acute; strengthen or sharpen.
Photography. to increase the density and contrast of (a negative) chemically.

verb (used without object), in·ten·si·fied, in·ten·si·fy·ing.

to become intense or more intense.

Origin of intensify

First recorded in 1810–20; intense + -ify

Related formsin·ten·si·fi·ca·tion, nounde-in·ten·si·fy, verb, de·-in·ten·si·fied, de·-in·ten·si·fy·ing.o·ver·in·ten·si·fi·ca·tion, nouno·ver·in·ten·si·fy, verb, o·ver·in·ten·si·fied, o·ver·in·ten·si·fy·ing.self-in·ten·si·fied, adjectiveself-in·ten·si·fy·ing, adjectiveun·in·ten·si·fied, adjective

Can be confusedaggravate intensify worsen (see synonym study at aggravate)

Synonyms for intensify

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1, 2. deepen, quicken, concentrate.

Synonym study

1, 2. See aggravate.

Antonyms for intensify

1. alleviate, weaken.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for intensifies

aggravate, escalate, boost, raise, increase, strengthen, reinforce, redouble, exacerbate, deepen, enhance, sharpen, heighten, quicken, stress, darken, magnify, augment, point, accentuate

Examples from the Web for intensifies

Contemporary Examples of intensifies

And Demme, by barely indicating the visual presence of the audience until the end, intensifies the closed-off, hermetic feeling.
The Stacks: Pauline Kael's Talking Heads Obsession
Pauline Kael
November 22, 2014
Indeed, in conflict situations the rhetoric around honor often intensifies.
How India’s Honor Culture Perpetuates Mass Rape
Amana Fontanella-Khan
July 14, 2014
The Full Moon, Friday, intensifies the need for intimacy to near desperation.
What the Stars Hold for Your Week
Starsky + Cox
July 8, 2011
Yet the gregariousness of the web only intensifies his solitude.
The Best of Brit Lit
Peter Stothard
August 20, 2010
As the Israel-Palestine conflict drags on, it blocks the resolution of urgent crises and intensifies looming threats to the West.
Obama's Deadbeat Diplomacy
Stephen Kinzer
May 8, 2010

Historical Examples of intensifies

Benedick, reporting to the same tune, intensifies his misery.
William Shakespeare
John Masefield
It only intensifies the pain and doesnt work much of a cure.
The Making of Bobby Burnit
George Randolph Chester
To place white by the side of a color heightens or intensifies the tone of that color.
Color Value
C. R. Clifford
Not that the Divine Spirit supersedes their human faculties, but He intensifies them.
Lux Mundi
Various
There are snow fields to cross, which intensifies the action.
Pony Tracks
Frederic Remington

British Dictionary definitions for intensifies

intensify

verb -fies, -fying or -fied

to make or become intense or more intense
(tr) to increase the density of (a photographic film or plate)

Derived Formsintensification, noun

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

Word Origin and History for intensifies

intensify

1817, from intense + -ify, first attested in Coleridge, in place of intend, which he said no longer was felt as connected with intense. Middle English used intensen (v.) "to increase (something), strengthen, intensify," early 15c. Related: Intensified; intensifying.