enlarge

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Synonym Chooser

How does the verb enlarge contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of enlarge are augment, increase, and multiply. While all these words mean "to make or become greater," enlarge implies expansion or extension that makes greater in size or capacity.

enlarged the kitchen

In what contexts can augment take the place of enlarge?

Although the words augment and enlarge have much in common, augment implies addition to what is already well grown or well developed.

the inheritance augmented his fortune

When might increase be a better fit than enlarge?

The words increase and enlarge are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, increase used intransitively implies progressive growth in size, amount, or intensity; used transitively it may imply simple not necessarily progressive addition.

his waistline increased with age
increased her landholdings

Where would multiply be a reasonable alternative to enlarge?

While in some cases nearly identical to enlarge, multiply implies increase in number by natural generation or by indefinite repetition of a process.

with each attempt the problems multiplied

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of enlarge Their presence has also enlarged the labor force, helping businesses fill vacancies in understaffed sectors. Lidia Kurasinska, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025 Reversing the Biden administration’s IRS upgrade — not to mention firing 6,700 people in the middle of tax season — will reduce the revenue collected by the agency by more than the decrease in payroll costs and enlarge the deficit. Justin Fox, Twin Cities, 13 Mar. 2025 The purpose of the destruction was quickly made clear to him and his fellow soldiers: Israel was enlarging the buffer zone separating Palestinians from Israeli communities along the Gaza border. Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 7 Apr. 2025 If the exteriors were constrained to faithful re-creations, the interiors offered vessels for experimentation, with two-story volumes carved out of both homes, rear windows reconfigured or enlarged, and ceiling height added by raising the roof and digging into the basement. Sam Cochran, Architectural Digest, 18 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for enlarge
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enlarge
Verb
  • What Murray did in the second half was increase his aggression off the dribble.
    Tony Jones, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2025
  • Those unused hours can, however, be converted to service credit to increase their government pensions.
    Melody Gutierrez, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • For 2024, the list was expanded to 450 companies and looked at their emissions between 2020 and 2022.
    Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2025
  • Believed to have originated in 15th-century Italy as a card game used by nobility, the original deck was expanded and popularized by 18th-century French occultists; and again later in the 20th century, when modern tarot was born thanks to the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, published in 1909.
    Michaela Trimble, Vogue, 21 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • In the month following Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack and Hamas's seizing of hundreds of Israeli hostages, Francis had prayed they would soon be freed and called for dialogue.
    Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Apr. 2025
  • Four months into his second term, the sprint is on: SAB 121 is gone, freeing banks from punitive capital rules on digital‑asset custody; April’s bill scrapped the nightmare cost‑basis paperwork for DeFi; and the DOJ has shuttered its crypto task force, vowing to chase scammers, not software.
    Crypto Confidential, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Iconic sportswear and footwear giant Adidas said Tuesday that the price of all its products will rise in the U.S. due to President Donald Trump's tariffs.
    Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2025
  • The country’s auto stocks rose on news that the Trump administration will reduce some import duties for automakers.
    Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 29 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Even then—before the rest of the world went AI-crazy—the CEO of Google DeepMind had a stark warning about the accelerating pace of AI progress.
    Billy Perrigo, Time, 27 Apr. 2025
  • This topic has been brewing for a while, and was accelerated by the injury conversation.
    Colton Pouncy, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Another endangered fish, northern tidewater gobies, were rescued from the same watershed shortly before the steelhead were liberated.
    Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2025
  • Just as my ancient and modern ancestors found freedom from oppression, so can each of us be liberated from today’s challenges by crafting a future built on deeds of lovingkindness.
    Maria Zimina, New York Daily News, 20 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Almost 4 in 10 Americans said neither party is fighting for people like them, as pessimism for both major parties swells, according to a survey released Friday.
    Filip Timotija, The Hill, 25 Apr. 2025
  • One patient had brain swelling and developed a cyst caused by radiation.
    Frieda Klotz, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The most successful implementations use technology to augment human capabilities, providing tools that help people work more efficiently rather than avoiding challenges altogether.
    AJ Bubb, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Brynjolfsson, in his Daedalus article, suggested changing the tax system to give businesses more incentive to invest in technology that augments labor rather than replaces it.
    John Cassidy, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Enlarge.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enlarge. Accessed 3 May. 2025.

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