Meaning & use
intensify
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To make something stronger, more extreme, or more serious.
Grammar: Takes an object: intensify the search.
Patterns
- intensify something
Police plan to intensify patrols near the station.
Adding lemon will intensify the flavor of the sauce.
The company intensified its efforts to win back customers.
verbintransitive
To grow stronger or more extreme by itself.
Grammar: No object: the pain intensified.
Patterns
- something intensifies
The storm is expected to intensify overnight.
As the deadline approached, the pressure on the team intensified.
The argument intensified until neither of them could be heard.
Word forms
| third person singular | intensifies |
|---|---|
| past tense | intensified |
| past participle | intensified |
| -ing form | intensifying |
Common combinations
- intensify efforts
- Rescuers intensified their efforts as night fell.
- intensify competition
- New rivals will intensify competition in the market.
- pain intensifies
- The pain intensifies when she bends over.
- fighting intensifies
- Reports say the fighting has intensified in the north.
- intensify a feeling
- Loneliness can intensify during the holidays.
Synonyms and how they differ
- heighten
- Heighten is usually used for feelings, awareness or tension, and sounds a little more literary than intensify.
- escalate
- Escalate implies a step-by-step rise, especially in conflict or cost, while intensify only speaks of greater strength.
- strengthen
- Strengthen is positive or neutral and is about making something sturdier, whereas intensify often applies to unwelcome things.
- deepen
- Deepen fits feelings and understanding that grow richer over time, not a sudden build-up of force.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: intensify or intensive?
intensify vs intensive
Intensive describes something thorough and concentrated, like an intensive course, while intensify is an action verb.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'intensify' with no object?
Choose one answer.
In 'winds will intensify' nothing receives the action, so the verb is intransitive. The other three have objects: training, search and dish.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “intensify”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.