aggrandize

verb ag·gran·dize \ ə-ˈgran-ˌdīz also ˈa-grən- \

Definition of aggrandize

aggrandized; aggrandizing

transitive verb

1 :to make great or greater :increase, enlarge

aggrandize an estate

2 :to make appear great or greater :praise highly

3 :to enhance the power, wealth, position, or reputation of

exploited the situation to aggrandize himself

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aggrandizement

play \ə-ˈgran-dəz-mənt, -ˌdīz- also ˌa-grən-ˈdīz-\ noun

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aggrandizer

play \ə-ˈgran-ˌdī-zər also ˈa-grən-\ noun

See aggrandize defined for kids

aggrandize was our Word of the Day on 05/08/2009. Hear the podcast!

Examples of aggrandize in a Sentence

a movie that aggrandizes the bad guys and makes the cops look like dopes
a generous grant, enabling the library to significantly aggrandize its collection of books on tape

Recent Examples of aggrandize from the Web

Trump, the self-aggrandizer-in-chief, reportedly had concluded Bannon was too self-aggrandizing, disruptive and worse of all, the source of White House leaks.

— jeff darcy, cleveland.com, "Solar eclipse in the Trump dark age: Darcy cartoon," 22 Aug. 2017
Some saw the shows as a self-aggrandizing star vehicle for Lewis, who often surrounded himself with performers praising his humanitarianism despite stories generated by some relatives about his womanizing and emotional abuse as a father.

— adam bernstein, Alaska Dispatch News, "Jerry Lewis, comedy king and master of slapstick, dies at 91," 20 Aug. 2017
Some saw the shows as a self-aggrandizing star vehicle for Lewis, who often surrounded himself with performers praising his humanitarianism despite stories generated by some relatives about his womanizing and emotional abuse as a father.

— the oregonian/oregonlive, OregonLive.com, "Any superstitious types buying Powerball tickets during the solar eclipse? Jackpot now $650 million," 20 Aug. 2017
Some saw the shows as a self-aggrandizing star vehicle for Mr. Lewis, who often surrounded himself with performers praising his humanitarianism despite stories generated by some relatives about his womanizing and emotional abuse as a father.

— adam bernstein, Washington Post, "Jerry Lewis, comedy king and master of slapstick, dies at 91," 20 Aug. 2017
Both are equestrian statues, the magnificent, muscular horses aggrandizing their riders through the soldiers’ partnership with — and control of — a powerful force of nature.

— christopher knight, latimes.com, "What to do with Confederate monuments? Put them in museums as examples of ugly history, not civic pride," 18 Aug. 2017
Atlanta rapper Tauheed Epps, better known as 2 Chainz, has built a career out of recording self-aggrandizing verses even more outsize than his six-foot, five-inch frame.

— leor galil, Chicago Reader, "2 Chainz gets contemplative on Pretty Girls Like Trap Music," 17 Aug. 2017
Somehow, all that self-aggrandizing nonsense has at least some Americans convinced.

— jack holmes, Esquire, "Half of Republicans Have Demonstrated a Taste for Authoritarianism," 10 Aug. 2017
With Sean Spicer gone, the unpleasant chore of explaining Trump’s self-aggrandizing lies fell to Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

— carl hiaasen, miamiherald, "Huckabee Sanders’ book on Trump will be stranger than fiction," 4 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'aggrandize.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Aggrandize has enhanced the English vocabulary since the early 17th century. English speakers adapted "agrandiss-," the stem of the French verb agrandir, to form "aggrandize," and later used the French form agrandissement as the basis of the noun "aggrandizement." (The root of "agrandiss-" is Latin; it comes from grandis, meaning "great.") Nowadays, both noun and verb are regularly paired (somewhat disparagingly) with the prefix self- to refer to individuals bent on glorifying themselves, as in the following sentence by Barbara Buchholz which appeared in the Chicago Tribune in 1995: "Celebrity authors eager to reveal all, self-aggrandize and wear their royalties in expensive attire. . . ."