aggrandize
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Related to aggrandize: vainglorious
ag·gran·dize
(ə-grăn′dīz′, ăg′rən-)tr.v. ag·gran·dized, ag·gran·diz·ing, ag·gran·diz·es
1.
a. To increase the scope of; extend: aggrandized the authority of his position.
b. To make greater in power, influence, stature, or reputation: "The executive branch had aggrandized itself during the war at the expense of the legislative branch" (David Herbert Donald).
2. To consider to be or cause to appear greater than is really the case; exaggerate: aggrandized his contributions to the project.
[French agrandir, agrandiss-, from Old French : a-, to (from Latin ad-; see ad-) + grandir, to grow larger (from Latin grandīre, from grandis, large).]
ag·gran′dize·ment (ə-grăn′dĭz-mənt, -dīz′-) n.
ag·gran′diz′er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
aggrandize
(ˈæɡrənˌdaɪz; əˈɡrænˌdaɪz) oraggrandise
vb (tr)
1. to increase the power, wealth, prestige, scope, etc, of
2. to cause (something) to seem greater; magnify; exaggerate
[C17: from Old French aggrandiss-, long stem of aggrandir to make bigger, from Latin grandis grand; the ending -ize is due to the influence of verbs ending in -ise, -ize]
aggrandizement, aggrandisement n
ˈaggranˌdizer, ˈaggranˌdiser n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ag•gran•dize
(əˈgræn daɪz, ˈæg rənˌdaɪz)v.t. -dized, -diz•ing.
1. to widen in scope; increase in size or intensity; enlarge; extend.
2. to make great or greater in power, wealth, rank, or honor.
3. to make (something) appear greater.
[1625–35; < French aggrandiss-, long s. of ag(g)randir to magnify]
ag•gran′dize•ment (-dɪz mənt) n.
ag•gran•diz•er (əˈgræn daɪ zər, ˈæg rənˌdaɪ-) n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
aggrandize
Past participle: aggrandized
Gerund: aggrandizing
| Imperative |
|---|
| aggrandize |
| aggrandize |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Verb | 1. | aggrandize - add details to glorify - cause to seem more splendid; "You are glorifying a rather mediocre building" exaggerate, hyperbolise, hyperbolize, overstate, amplify, magnify, overdraw - to enlarge beyond bounds or the truth; "tended to romanticize and exaggerate this `gracious Old South' imagery" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
aggrandize
verb exaggerate, advance, promote, intensify, elevate, enlarge, enrich, inflate, dignify, magnify, amplify, augment, exalt, ennoble He would go on and on, showing off, aggrandizing himself.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
aggrandize
verb1. To make or become greater or larger:
amplify, augment, boost, build, build up, burgeon, enlarge, escalate, expand, extend, grow, increase, magnify, mount, multiply, proliferate, rise, run up, snowball, soar, swell, upsurge, wax.
Informal: beef up.
2. To raise to a high position or status:
Idiom: put on a pedestal.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
aggrandize
[əˈgrændaɪz] VT (= increase stature of) [+ person] → engrandecer; (= exaggerate) → agrandar, exagerarto aggrandize o.s → darse aires (de grandeza)
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
aggrandize
vt one’s power, empire → vergrößern, erweitern; person, one’s family → befördern; to aggrandize oneself → sich befördern; (= be self-important) → sich wichtigmachen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007