1. (v. t.) 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. (v. t.) To increase the importance of; to augment the esteem or respect in which one is held.
3. (v. t.) To praise highly; to land; to extol.
4. (v. t.) To exaggerate; as, to magnify a loss or a difficulty.
5. (v. i.) 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. (v. i.) To have effect; to be of importance or significance.
Thesaurus Entries
accelerate, add to, adulate, agent provocateur, aggrandize, aggravate, amplify, annoy, apotheose, apotheosize, augment, ballyhoo, beatify, beef up, belaud, bepraise, bless, bless the Lord, bloat, blow up, boast of, boost, brag about, broaden, build, build up, bulk, bulk out, burlesque, canonize, caricature, carry too far, celebrate, color, complicate, concentrate, condense, consolidate, crescendo, crown, cry up, deepen, deify, deteriorate, develop, dignify, dilate, distend, distinguish, double, doxologize, dramatize, draw the longbow, elevate, embellish, embitter, emblazon, enhance, enlarge, ennoble, enshrine, enthrone, erect, eulogize, exacerbate, exaggerate, exalt, exasperate, expand, extend, extol, flatter, fudge, glamorize, glorify, glorify the Lord, go to extremes, heat up, heighten, hero-worship, hike, hike up, honor, hop up, hot up, huff, hymn, hyperbolize, idolize, immortalize, increase, inflate, intensify, irritate, jazz up, key up, laud, lay it on, lionize, make acute, make complex, make legendary, make much of, make worse, maximize, mount, multiply, overcharge, overdo, overdraw, overemphasize, overestimate, overpaint, overpraise, overreach, overreact, oversell, overspeak, overstate, overstress, pad, panegyrize, pay tribute, pile it on, porter aux nues, praise, praise God, provoke, puff, puff up, pump, pump up, raise, ramify, rarefy, redouble, reinforce, rouse, saint, salute, sanctify, set up, sharpen, sing praises, soup up, sour, step up, strengthen, stretch, stretch the truth, sublime, sufflate, swell, talk big, talk in superlatives, throne, tout, travesty, triple, trumpet, up, uplift, uprear, vise, whet, widen, worsen
