magnify Hear it!

magnify Definition

mag·nify (mag′nə fī′)

transitive verb -·fied′, -·fy′·ing

  1. Rare to make greater in size, status, or importance; enlarge
  2. to cause to seem greater, more important, etc. than is really so; exaggerate to magnify one's sufferings
  3. to cause to seem larger than is really so; increase the apparent size of, esp. by means of a lens or lenses
  4. Archaic to glorify; praise; extol

Etymology: ME magnifien < OFr magnifier < L magnificare, to make much of, esteem highly, LL(Ec), to worship < magnus, great (see magni-) + facere, to make, do

intransitive verb

to have the power of increasing the apparent size of an object, as a microscope does

magnify Synonyms

magnify

v.

  1. To enlarge

    amplify, blow up, expand; see increase 1.

  2. To exaggerate

    overstate, intensify, embroider; see exaggerate.

magnify Usage Examples

Object

  • glass: You can close the magnifying glass by taking your finger off the left mouse button.
  • lens: The simplest solution is to add a close up lens which is a magnifying lens to enable your standard lens to focus much closer.
  • icon: To search click on the magnifying glass icon in the selector box.
  • bead: Movement of bead magnified on an average about 25 times.
  • portion: Screen magnification software is used to magnify portions of a screen using a zoom feature.
  • image: With optical zoom, optics in the lens magnify the image.

Subject

  • fact: This is magnified by the fact that there are not any pictures of her parents together with their daughter.
  • factor: My own ill informed opinion is that this frustration is being magnified by two factors.
  • lens: In the optical range the image is magnified by the lens.

Modifying Another Word

  • greatly: Movement of apex greatly magnified, here reduced to one-fourth of original scale.
  • considerably: To make a green flash these tiny refraction effects need somehow to be considerably magnified.
  • highly: The image to the right is a more highly magnified photograph of the same lobe.
  • thus: The horn would be blown into the hollow thus magnifying its sound.
  • much: A much magnified portion of a scan made of a glossy paper, showing the interference fringes.
  • often: When alcohol and tobacco are used together the risks to health are often magnified.

Followed by an intransitive particle

up: These lenses were able to magnify up to about 300 times.

Used with why or when

when: It caused major concern throughout the EU, and this concern was magnified when Tony Blair decided to avoid a Public Inquiry back home.

Preposition: by

  • fact: This is magnified by the fact that there are not any pictures of her parents together with their daughter.
  • factor: My own ill informed opinion is that this frustration is being magnified by two factors.
  • lens: In the optical range the image is magnified by the lens.