aggrandizement

/ˈæɡrənˌdaɪzmənt/

Other forms: aggrandizements

Aggrandizement is the act of enlarging or expanding something's power or status. It's hard sometimes to tell if politicians run for office in order to help their communities, or just for their own aggrandizement.

Aggrandizement is the noun form of the verb aggrandize, "to increase the power or reputation of something," and it usually implies that there's some exaggeration going on. If your friend spread the story of how you had saved a drowning child at the beach, when actually you'd only yelled for the lifeguard, and if you didn't correct him or set the story straight, you'd be participating in the aggrandizement of your reputation.

Definitions of aggrandizement

1. noun

   the act of increasing the wealth or prestige or power or scope of something
   “the aggrandizement of the king”

   synonyms: aggrandisement, elevation

   types:

   ego trip, self-aggrandisement, self-aggrandizement

   an act undertaken to increase your own power and influence or to draw attention to your own importance

   type of:

   increase, step-up

   the act of increasing something