magnify
[ mag-nuh-fahy ]
/ ˈmæg nəˌfaɪ /
verb (used with object), mag·ni·fied, mag·ni·fy·ing.
to increase the apparent size of, as a lens does.
to make greater in actual size; enlarge: to magnify a drawing in preparing for a fresco.
to cause to seem greater or more important; attribute too much importance to; exaggerate: to magnify one's difficulties.
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), mag·ni·fied, mag·ni·fy·ing.
to increase or be able to increase the apparent or actual size of an object.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
aggravate, deepen, multiply, enhance, inflate, heighten, amplify, overstate, overestimate, pyramid, ennoble, dignify, redouble, distend, dilate, eulogize, increase, exalt, pad, boost
Nearby words
- magnificence,
- magnificent,
- magnificently,
- magnifico,
- magnifier,
- magnifying glass,
- magniloquence,
- magniloquent,
- magniloquently,
- magnisonant
Origin of magnify
SYNONYMS FOR magnify
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for magnify
magnify
/ (ˈmæɡnɪˌfaɪ) /
verb -fies, -fying or -fied
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 importancedon't magnify your troubles
(tr) rare to increase in actual size
(tr) archaic to glorify
Word Origin for magnify
C14: via Old French from Latin magnificāre to praise; see magnific
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
magnify
late 14c., "to speak or act for the glory or honor (of someone or something)," from Old French magnefiier "glorify, magnify," from Latin magnificare "esteem greatly, extol, make much of," from magnificus "great, elevated, noble" (see magnificence). Meaning "use a telescope or microscope" is first attested 1660s, said to be a unique development in English. Related: Magnified; magnifying.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
magnify
[ măg′nə-fī′ ]
v.
To increase the apparent size of, especially with a lens.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.