Definitions for magnifyˈmæg nəˌfaɪ

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Random House Webster's College Dictionary

mag•ni•fyˈmæg nəˌfaɪ(v.)-fied, -fy•ing.

  1. (v.t.)to increase the apparent size of.

  2. to make greater in actual size; enlarge.

  3. to exaggerate; overstate:

    to magnify one's difficulties.

  4. to intensify; heighten.

  5. to praise:

    to magnify the Lord.

  6. (v.i.)to increase or be able to increase the apparent or actual size of an object.

Origin of magnify:

1350–1400; < L magnificāre. See magnific , -fy

mag′ni•fi`a•ble(adj.)

Princeton's WordNet

  1. magnify, amplify(verb)

    increase in size, volume or significance

    "Her terror was magnified in her mind"

  2. overstate, exaggerate, overdraw, hyperbolize, hyperbolise, magnify, amplify(verb)

    to enlarge beyond bounds or the truth

    "tended to romanticize and exaggerate this `gracious Old South' imagery"

  3. blow up, enlarge, magnify(verb)

    make large

    "blow up an image"

Kernerman English Learner's Dictionary

  1. magnify(verb)ˈmæg nəˌfaɪ

    to make appear bigger using a special lens; = enlarge

    a bacteria magnified 200 times

  2. magnifyˈmæg nəˌfaɪ

    to make more intense

    Her illness magnified her sense of depression.

Wiktionary

  1. magnify(Verb)

    To praise, glorify (someone or something, especially god).

  2. magnify(Verb)

    To make (something) larger or more important.

  3. magnify(Verb)

    To make (someone or something) appear greater or more important than it is; to intensify, exaggerate.

  4. magnify(Verb)

    To make (something) appear larger by means of a lens, magnifying glass, telescope etc.

  5. Origin: From magnifier or its source, magnificare, from magnificus.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Magnify(verb)

    to make great, or greater; to increase the dimensions of; to amplify; to enlarge, either in fact or in appearance; as, the microscope magnifies the object by a thousand diameters

  2. Magnify(verb)

    to increase the importance of; to augment the esteem or respect in which one is held

  3. Magnify(verb)

    to praise highly; to land; to extol

  4. Magnify(verb)

    to exaggerate; as, to magnify a loss or a difficulty

  5. Magnify(verb)

    to have the power of causing objects to appear larger than they really are; to increase the apparent dimensions of objects; as, some lenses magnify but little

  6. Magnify(verb)

    to have effect; to be of importance or significance


Translations for magnify

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary

magnify(verb)

to cause to appear greater

A telescope magnifies an image; to magnify one's troubles.

Get even more translations for magnify »


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