magnify

verb

mag·ni·fy | \ ˈmag-nə-ˌfī

magnified; magnifying

Definition of magnify

transitive verb

1a : 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

2a : 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

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about magnify

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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 on the Web

Things that seem small in a whirlwind 48-hour period become magnified when observed over a five-day period, and those things become exacerbated when, as mentioned before, there is no processing space or time to sort them out. — Monique Judge, The Root, "Why I Had to Stop Seeing Mr. Big After Our 5-Day Date," 25 June 2018 The Russians are not manufacturing an issue out of whole cloth — nationalism clearly has an authentic popular basis — but instead use their influence to magnify it. — Jonathan Chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Britain Has a Russia Collusion Scandal Now. It Looks Exactly Like Trump’s.," 22 June 2018 That usually involves a device called a dermoscope, which shines light on the skin and magnifies it, the AAD says. — Korin Miller, SELF, "Former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres Has Melanoma That Spread From a Spot She 'Never Paid Attention To'," 6 Feb. 2019 Those issues could be magnified now as Dollar General has added thousands of stores, analysts say. — Sarah Nassauer, WSJ, "Dollar Tree’s $9 Billion Problem: Family Dollar Isn’t Paying Off," 5 Nov. 2018 In Alabama, Clarke said a lack of state law is magnified given that famed equal pay advocate Lilly Ledbetter is a native of Jacksonville in Calhoun County. — John Sharp, AL.com, "Alabama lawmaker pitches equal pay legislation amid #MeToo momentum," 12 Mar. 2018 But the Panamanian misadventure has become the family business’s biggest headache at a time when its founder is in the White House and every move and woe is magnified across the planet. — Kirk Semple, Ben Protess And Steve Eder, New York Times, "Thugs, Leeches, Shouting and Shoving at Trump Hotel in Panama," 3 Mar. 2018 The product can magnify images by one to 12 times, depending on what the wearer needs at that moment. — Caren Chesler, Popular Mechanics, "A Vision Quest," 6 Mar. 2019 Studies with large numbers of participants may magnify minor differences, leading to a headline-generating conclusion based on mistakes rather than reality. — Jessica Wapner, SELF, "How Worried Do You Really Need to Be About Your Screen Time?," 7 Feb. 2019

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.