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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Magnify \Mag"ni*fy\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Magnified}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Magnifying}.] [OE. magnifien, F. magnifier, L. magnificare. See {Magnific}.]
1. To make great, or greater; to increase the dimensions of; to amplify; to enlarge, either in fact or in appearance; as, the microscope magnifies the object by a thousand diameters.
The least error in a small quantity . . . will in a great one . . . be proportionately magnified. --Grew.
2. To increase the importance of; to augment the esteem or respect in which one is held.
On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel. --Joshua iv. 14.
3. To praise highly; to laud; to extol. [Archaic]
O, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. --Ps. xxxiv. 3.
4. To exaggerate; as, to magnify a loss or a difficulty.
{To magnify one's self} (Script.), to exhibit pride and haughtiness; to boast.
{To magnify one's self against} (Script.), to oppose with pride.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Magnify \Mag"ni*fy\, verb (used without an object)
1. To have the power of causing objects to appear larger than they really are; to increase the apparent dimensions of objects; as, some lenses magnify but little.
2. To have effect; to be of importance or significance. [Cant & Obs.] --Spectator.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
magnify
verb
1: increase in size, volume or significance; "Her terror was magnified in her mind" [syn: {amplify}]
2: to enlarge beyond bounds or the truth; "tended to romanticize and exaggerate this 'gracious Old South' imagery" [syn: {overstate}, {exaggerate}, {overdraw}, {hyperbolize}, {hyerbolise}, {amplify}] [ant: {understate}]
3: make large; "blow up an image" [syn: {blow up}, {enlarge}] [ant: {reduce}] [also: {magnified}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
167 Moby Thesaurus words for "magnify": accelerate, add to, adulate, agent provocateur, aggrandize, aggravate, amplify, annoy, apotheose, apotheosize, augment, ballyhoo, beatify, beef up, belaud, bepraise, bless, bless the Lord, bloat, blow up, boast of, boost, brag about, broaden, build, build up, bulk, bulk out, burlesque, canonize, caricature, carry too far, celebrate, color, complicate, concentrate, condense, consolidate, crescendo, crown, cry up, deepen, deify, deteriorate, develop, dignify, dilate, distend, distinguish, double, doxologize, dramatize, draw the longbow, elevate, embellish, embitter, emblazon, enhance, enlarge, ennoble, enshrine, enthrone, erect, eulogize, exacerbate, exaggerate, exalt, exasperate, expand, extend, extol, flatter, fudge, glamorize, glorify, glorify the Lord, go to extremes, heat up, heighten, hero-worship, hike, hike up, honor, hop up, hot up, huff, hymn, hyperbolize, idolize, immortalize, increase, inflate, intensify, irritate, jazz up, key up, laud, lay it on, lionize, make acute, make complex, make legendary, make much of, make worse, maximize, mount, multiply, overcharge, overdo, overdraw, overemphasize, overestimate, overpaint, overpraise, overreach, overreact, oversell, overspeak, overstate, overstress, pad, panegyrize, pay tribute, pile it on, porter aux nues, praise, praise God, provoke, puff, puff up, pump, pump up, raise, ramify, rarefy, redouble, reinforce, rouse, saint, salute, sanctify, set up, sharpen, sing praises, soup up, sour, step up, strengthen, stretch, stretch the truth, sublime, sufflate, swell, talk big, talk in superlatives, throne, tout, travesty, triple, trumpet, up, uplift, uprear, vise, whet, widen, worsen
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