Aggrandize
to widen in scope; increase in size or intensity; enlarge; extend.
to make great or greater in power, wealth, rank, or honor.
to make (something) appear greater.
Historical Examples
He cares for nothing save to aggrandize his children, by fair means or foul, and this is his sole desire.
The Life of Cesare Borgia Raphael Sabatini
If the Guises were French princes, their interest would be to aggrandize France.
Chicot the Jester Alexandre Dumas, Pere
To aggrandize his own has been for years his sole end and aim.
Edmond Dants Edmund Flagg
Looking back at his career, it does not appear that he made war with ambitious objects to aggrandize his Empire.
The Turkish Empire, its Growth and Decay Lord Eversley
It became the nobler ambition of Julius to aggrandize the church, and to reassume the protectorate of the Italian people.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 1 Various
All motives of a religious kind were absorbed in his prevailing passion to aggrandize the French monarchy.
A Modern History, From the Time of Luther to the Fall of Napoleon John Lord, A.M.
The people were virtually enslaved to aggrandize a single person.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume II John Lord
My mother knew all about the Clemenses of Virginia, and loved to aggrandize them to me, but she has long been dead.
Chapters from My Autobiography Mark Twain
His wish to re-establish his house grew into an ardent desire to aggrandize it.
A Love Story A Bushman
The successors of Pia-tac have had it equally in view to aggrandize the place.
The Mission to Siam, and Hu the Capital of Cochin China, in the Years 1821-2 George Finlayson
verb (transitive)
to increase the power, wealth, prestige, scope, etc, of
to cause (something) to seem greater; magnify; exaggerate
verb
to enhance the wealth of
Word Origin
Latin a- ‘from’ + grandir ‘to increase’
Usage Note
transitive
v.
1630s, “to make larger, increase,” from French agrandiss-, present participle stem of agrandir “to augment” (16c.), ultimately from Latin ad “to” (see ad-) + grandire “to make great,” from grandis (see grand (adj.)). The double -g- spelling in English is by analogy with Latin words in ad-. Related: Aggrandized; aggrandizing.
Read Also:
- Aggrandisement
an act or instance of , or increasing in size, or intensity: aggrandizement of mercantile trade in the early colonies. the act of making something appear greater than is actually warranted by the facts: Some saw it as ego aggrandizement. expansion of power, wealth, rank, or honor: The department was used for the aggrandizement of […]
- Aggrandizement
an act or instance of , or increasing in size, or intensity: aggrandizement of mercantile trade in the early colonies. the act of making something appear greater than is actually warranted by the facts: Some saw it as ego aggrandizement. expansion of power, wealth, rank, or honor: The department was used for the aggrandizement of […]
- Aggravate
to make worse or more severe; intensify, as anything evil, disorderly, or troublesome: to aggravate a grievance; to aggravate an illness. to annoy; irritate; exasperate: His questions aggravate her. to cause to become irritated or inflamed: The child’s constant scratching aggravated the rash. Contemporary Examples This, in turn, serves to amplify and aggravate differences of […]
- Aggravated
annoyed; irritated: I get so aggravated when I get this much junk mail. Law. characterized by some feature defined by law that enhances the crime, as the intention of the criminal or the special vulnerability of the victim: aggravated assault; aggravated rape. to make worse or more severe; intensify, as anything evil, disorderly, or troublesome: […]
- Aggravated battery
noun knowing and intentional infliction of injury on a person that creates a substantial risk of death or causes serious impairment, disfigurement, or loss Examples Aggravated battery is a more serious form of battery, and is considered a felony, unlike simple battery which is a misdemeanor. Word Origin aggravated in this sense means ‘increased, magnified’ […]