Synonyms

magnify

American

[mag-nuh-fahy] / ˈmæg nəˌfaɪ /

verb (used with object)

to increase the apparent size of, as a lens does.

Antonyms:

reduce
to make greater in actual size; enlarge.

to magnify a drawing in preparing for a fresco.

Synonyms:

amplify, increase, augment

Antonyms:

reduce
to cause to seem greater or more important; attribute too much importance to; exaggerate.

to magnify one's difficulties.

Synonyms:

overstate

Antonyms:

minimize
to make more exciting; intensify; dramatize; heighten.

The playwright magnified the conflict to get her point across.
Archaic. to extol; praise.

to magnify the Lord.

verb (used without object)

to increase or be able to increase the apparent or actual size of an object.

magnify British

/ ˈmæɡnɪˌfaɪ /

verb

to increase, cause to increase, or be increased in apparent size, as through the action of a lens, microscope, etc
to exaggerate or become exaggerated in importance

don't magnify your troubles
rare (tr) to increase in actual size
archaic (tr) to glorify

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of magnify

1350–1400; Middle English magnifien < Latin magnificāre. See magni-, -fy

Explanation

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.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As the black holes orbit each other, their immense gravity could repeatedly magnify the light from stars located behind them, creating recurring flashes that may reveal the hidden systems.

From Science Daily • Jun. 5, 2026

Troop commitments in the Middle East magnify the importance of Tokyo’s increasing military muscle in Asia.

From Barron's • May 14, 2026

Underscoring the popularity of the fund’s strategy amid the artificial-intelligence boom, another firm recently filed to launch a leveraged ETF designed to magnify the Roundhill Memory ETF’s daily performance.

From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026

This pattern has helped to magnify the party's seat losses, which currently stand at 250 seats or half of all those it has been trying to defend.

From BBC • May 8, 2026

The spectacles have good lenses that magnify things: when I try them on, even French words look large and easy to read.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023