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magnify

[ mag-nuh-fahy ]
/ ˈmæg nəˌfaɪ /
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See synonyms for: magnify / magnified on Thesaurus.com
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.
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Origin of magnify

1350–1400; Middle English magnifien<Latin magnificāre.See magni-, -fy

OTHER WORDS FROM magnify

Words nearby magnify

magnification, magnificence, magnificent, magnifico, magnifier, magnify, magnifying glass, magniloquent, magnisonant, Magnitogorsk, magnitude
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Words related to magnify

aggravate, deepen, multiply, enhance, inflate, heighten, amplify, overstate, overestimate, pyramid, ennoble, dignify, redouble, distend, dilate, eulogize, increase, exalt, pad, boost

How to use magnify in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions 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

Derived forms of magnify

magnifiable, adjective

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

Medical definitions for magnify

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.
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