Meaning & use
magnify
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To make something appear larger than it really is, especially with a lens.
Grammar: Takes an object: magnify the image. Often used with 'with' or 'by' to show the tool or amount.
Patterns
- magnify something
- magnify something with something
- magnify something by something
The microscope can magnify the specimen up to 1000 times.
Use a magnifying glass to magnify the small print.
The lens magnifies the image so you can see details.
verbtransitive
To make something seem more important, serious, or worse than it actually is.
Grammar: Takes an object: magnify a problem. Often used in the phrase 'magnify the problem' or 'magnify fears'.
Patterns
- magnify a problem
- magnify fears
- magnify the situation
The media tends to magnify small incidents into major scandals.
Don't magnify your worries; talk to someone about them.
His nervousness magnified every little mistake he made.
Word forms
| third person singular | magnifies |
|---|---|
| past tense | magnified |
| past participle | magnified |
| -ing form | magnifying |
Common combinations
- magnify an image
- The software can magnify an image without losing quality.
- magnify the problem
- Skipping classes will only magnify the problem.
- magnify something ten times
- This lens magnifies the object ten times.
- greatly magnify
- The new policy greatly magnified the existing inequalities.
Synonyms and how they differ
- enlarge
- Enlarge means to make something bigger in actual size; magnify often means to make it appear bigger, as with a lens.
- exaggerate
- Exaggerate means to describe something as larger or better than it is; magnify in the second sense is similar but often suggests making a problem seem worse.
- amplify
- Amplify means to increase in strength or volume, often used for sound; magnify is more about visual size or perceived importance.
Opposites
Word family
- magnification noun
- The act of making something look bigger, or the degree to which it is enlarged.
- magnifier noun
- A tool, such as a lens, that makes things look bigger.
- magnifying glass noun
- A round lens with a handle, used to make small things look bigger.
Commonly confused: magnify or signify?
magnify vs signify
Signify means to be a sign of something or to mean; magnify means to make larger. They look similar but have different meanings.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
'Magnify' is transitive and takes a direct object, so 'magnifies the image' is correct. The other options wrongly add prepositions that change the meaning or make the sentence ungrammatical.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “magnify”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.