magnify

verb

mag·​ni·​fy ˈmag-nə-ˌfī 

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

Synonyms

• color
• elaborate (on)
• embellish
• embroider
• exaggerate
• hyperbolize
• pad
• stretch

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

Because users have no control over the data used to train LLMs, or the data's provenance, the potential for bias can be significant and magnified by the non-deterministic nature of GenAI technology. —Scott Zoldi, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024

Although it’s kept vague, this pivot adds a properly unexpected wrinkle to the franchise, and the directors adeptly walk the line between allowing this to magnify the movie’s gonzo spirit versus betraying the series’ tone. —Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 12 Oct. 2024

These compounds work together in order to magnify the therapeutic benefits of each individual cannabinoid, which greatly increases the therapeutic benefits that are provided overall. —Rowan Briggs, The Mercury News, 9 Oct. 2024

Then all of it getting magnified with the movie cast coming in and Mabel’s track of trying to ground herself in the case and find out what exactly is going on here. —Jim Halterman, Variety, 8 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English magnifien, from Anglo-French magnifier, from Latin magnificare, from magnificus

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Kids Definition

magnify

verb

mag·​ni·​fy ˈmag-nə-ˌfī 

magnified; magnifying

1

: extol, praise

2

a

: to increase in importance

b

: exaggerate

3

: to enlarge in fact or in appearance

a microscope magnifies an object seen through it

magnifier

-ˌfī(-ə)r

noun

Medical Definition

magnify

verb

mag·​ni·​fy ˈmag-nə-ˌfī 

magnified; magnifying

transitive verb

: to enlarge in appearance

intransitive verb

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