magnify

/ˌmægnəˈfaɪ/

/ˈmagnɪfaɪ/

Other forms: magnified; magnifying; magnifies

To magnify is to make something bigger, whether in size or in significance.

A magnifying glass makes things look bigger and when anything is magnified, it gets larger in some way. If your hunger is magnified, you've gotten hungrier. Wearing a heavy coat on a hot day will magnify the heat: you're feeling hotter and hotter. Also, non-physical things get magnified. The press could magnify a story by discussing it over and over, making it a bigger story than it was originally. All types of magnifying make things bigger.

Definitions of magnify

1. verb

   increase in size, volume or significance
   “Her terror was magnified in her mind”

   synonyms: amplify

   type of:

   enlarge

   become larger or bigger
2. verb

   make large
   synonyms: blow up, enlarge

   type of:

   increase

   make bigger or more
3. verb

   to enlarge beyond bounds or the truth
   synonyms: amplify, exaggerate, hyperbolise, hyperbolize, overdraw, overstate

   types:

   overemphasise, overemphasize, overstress

   place special or excessive emphasis on

   blow, bluster, boast, brag, gas, gasconade, shoot a line, swash, tout, vaunt

   show off

   aggrandise, aggrandize, blow up, dramatise, dramatize, embellish, embroider, lard, pad

   add details to

   glorify

   cause to seem more splendid

   puff

   speak in a blustering or scornful manner

   crow, gloat, triumph

   dwell on with satisfaction

   type of:

   misinform, mislead

   give false or misleading information to