Definition of aggrandize
aggrandized
;aggrandizing
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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
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The detective blames Nichols, the self-aggrandizing adviser who convinced the Cabazons to build a casino, for conjuring the intrigue that continued to befog the case long after his death.
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. . . ."
Origin and Etymology of aggrandize
French agrandiss-, stem of agrandir, from a- (from Latin ad-) + grandir to increase, from Latin grandire, from grandis great
First Known Use: 1634
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