magnify

English

Etymology

From Middle French magnifier or its source, Latin magnificāre, from magnificus.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈmaɡnɪfʌɪ/

Verb

magnify (third-person singular simple present magnifies, present participle magnifying, simple past and past participle magnified)

1. (transitive) To praise, glorify (someone or something, especially god). [from 14th c.]
   • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Acts X:

     For they herde them speake with tonges, and magnify God.

   • 1644, John Milton, Aeropagitica:

     For he who freely magnifies what hath been nobly done, and fears not to declare as freely what might be done better, gives ye the best cov'nant of his fidelity [...].

2. (transitive) To make (something) larger or more important. [from 14th c.]
   • 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, Internal Combustion^[1]:

     But through the oligopoly, charcoal fuel proliferated throughout London's trades and industries. By the 1200s, brewers and bakers, tilemakers, glassblowers, pottery producers, and a range of other craftsmen all became hour-to-hour consumers of charcoal. This only magnified the indispensable nature of the oligopolists.

3. (transitive) To make (someone or something) appear greater or more important than it is; to intensify, exaggerate. [from 17th c.]
4. (transitive) To make (something) appear larger by means of a lens, magnifying glass, telescope etc. [from 17th c.]

Derived terms

• magnifier
• magnifying glass
• magnification

Related terms

• minify (opposite)

Translations

to make an object appear larger

• Czech: zvětšit (cs)
• Dutch: vergroten (nl)
• French: agrandir (fr)
• German: vergrößern (de)
• Greek: μεγεθύνω (el) (megethýno)
• Hungarian: nagyít (hu), kinagyít (hu)

• Japanese: 拡大する (kakudai-suru)
• Macedonian: увеличува (mk) (uvelíčuva), зголемува (mk) (zgolémuva)
• Norwegian: forstørre (no)
• Romanian: mări (ro)
• Russian: увеличивать (ru) (uvelíčivat') impf., увеличить (ru) (uvelíčit') pf.