magnify

Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

mag·nify [magnify magnifies magnified magnifying] BrE [ˈmæɡnɪfaɪ] NAmE [ˈmæɡnɪfaɪ] verb (mag·ni·fies, mag·ni·fy·ing, mag·ni·fied, mag·ni·fied)
1. ~ sth (to/by sth) to make sth look bigger than it really is, for example by using a ↑lens or ↑microscope
Syn: ↑enlarge
•bacteria magnified to 1 000 times their actual size
•an image magnified by a factor of 4
2. ~ sth to make sth bigger, louder or stronger
•The sound was magnified by the high roof.
•The dry summer has magnified the problem of water shortages.
3. ~ sth to make sth seem more important or serious than it really is
Syn: ↑exaggerate
Verb forms:

Word Origin:
late Middle English (in the senses ‘show honour to (God)’ and ‘make greater’): from Old French magnifier or Latin magnificare, based on Latin magnus ‘great’. The current senses date from the mid 17th cent.

Example Bank:
•The daring of his exploits had been hugely magnified by constant telling.
•The picture shows the insect's head magnified ten times.

• Từ đồng nghĩa / Synonyms:
  blow up, enlarge, overstate, exaggerate, overdraw, hyperbolize, hyperbolise, amplify
• Từ trái nghĩa / Antonyms:
  reduce, scale down, understate, minimize, minimise, downplay