magnify

verb mag·ni·fy \ ˈmag-nə-ˌfī \

|Updated on: 16 Jun 2018

Examples: magnify in a Sentence

Definition of magnify

magnified; magnifying

transitive verb

1 a : extol, laud

while they magnified the art, they often belittled the artist
—Havelock Ellis

b : to cause to be held in greater esteem or respect

2 a : to increase in significance : intensify

real drama … will use ugliness to magnify beauty
—Alan Mickle

b : exaggerate

magnifies every minor issue to crisis proportions

3 : to enlarge in fact or in appearance

The lens magnified the image 100 times.

intransitive verb

: to have the power of causing objects to appear larger than they are

a glass that magnifies greatly

See magnify defined for English-language learners

See magnify defined for kids

Examples of magnify in a Sentence

The sound was magnified by the calm air.
His failures have been magnified by the success of his friends.
I don't want to magnify the importance of these problems.
The lens magnified the image 100 times.
a magnified view of the image

Recent Examples of magnify from the Web

Yet, in Michigan these trends are being magnified by local phenomena, said Metzger.

— bill laitner, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan is aging faster than the rest of the U.S. – here's why," 8 June 2018
The President launches his assault on the investigation via impulse and instinct, his Twitter blasts inspired and magnified by a feedback loop that injects fringe theories and unfounded suspicions into the mainstream debate about the probe.

— tessa berenson, Time, "Donald Trump’s Campaign to Discredit the Russia Investigation May Be Working. It’s Also Damaging American Democracy," 7 June 2018
The effect could be magnified by a warming climate, because recent global simulations estimate up to a 10% increase in rain rate per degree Celsius of warming.

— giorgia guglielmi, Scientific American, "Hurricanes Slow Their Roll Around the World," 7 June 2018
This has been magnified by West’s actions over the past few months that have drawn the ire of even his staunchest supporters.

— andreas hale, Billboard, "5 Things We Learned on First Listen to Kanye West's 'Ye' Album," 1 June 2018
Since then, a combination of pitching and defensive problems magnified by inexperience pulled the Sun Devils down when consecutive top 10-ranked recruiting classes suggested the opposite could occur.

— jeff metcalfe, azcentral, "ASU 'staying the course' with baseball coach Tracy Smith for 'very important' 2019 season," 29 May 2018
That slump reflected a string of pricey flops — many of them based on aging franchises — magnified by increasing competition from streaming services and prestigious TV shows.

— ryan faughnder, latimes.com, "Hollywood hopes for a rebound with a slew of summer blockbusters — including 'Solo: A Star Wars Story'," 22 May 2018
Isaiah bears some responsibility for what went wrong in Cleveland and there are weaknesses in his game that'll be magnified as his athleticism drops off, but that doesn't change the baseline of frustration with how this has played out for him.

— andrew sharp, SI.com, "The Cavs’ Future Gets Brighter as I.T.’s Timeline Gets More Depressing," 9 Feb. 2018
If all goes as planned, sometime next year researchers will be able to draw additional conclusions about mercury’s long-term legacy in the region, and how factors like malnutrition and anemia might magnify its toxic effects.

— jim wyss, miamiherald, "How U.S. demand for gold jewelry and bullion is poisoning children in the Amazon," 26 Jan. 2018

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