Meaning

(transitive) To make great; to enlarge; to increase..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To make great; to enlarge; to increase.
2. (transitive) To make great or greater in power, rank, honor, or wealth (applied to persons, countries, etc.).
3. (transitive, formal) To make appear great or greater; to exalt.
4. (intransitive, rare) To increase or become great.

Example Sentences

to aggrandize one's authority, distress

[They] doe adde vnto the bitternesse of that Day, and agrandise the heauie weight of trouble.

In Heroic Verſe, but eſpecially in the grander Lyrics, there are ſometimes ſuch noble Elevations of Thought and Paſſion as illuminate all Things around us, and convey to the Soul moſt exalted and magnificent Images and ſublime Sentiments: Theſe furniſh us with glorious Springs and Mediums to raiſe and aggrandize our Conceptions, […]

[…] on so small a scale, it would be impossible to give an adequate idea of a grand scene. […] Were it painted indeed with exactness on a pane of glass in a window, and the eye brought to it, under the deception of it’s being a real view; the imagination might aggrandize it.

[…] the relations of ideas to power may assume infinite variations. The tendency may be to aggrandize power at all cost, to aggrandize power but to calculate soberly the risks involved, to conserve existing power, or even to yield power.

[…] the aggrandizing of your estate by well managed fortune […] may well set out your praises to the world […]

[…] under pretence of ſecuring the purity of religion, he had laid a ſcheme of aggrandizing his own family, by extending its dominions over all Germany.

He only wanted to aggrandize and enrich himself; and if Miss Woodhouse of Hartfield, the heiress of thirty thousand pounds, were not quite so easily obtained as he had fancied, he would soon try for Miss Somebody else with twenty, or with ten.

Word Forms

• aggrandizes
• aggrandizing
• aggrandized
• aggrandise

Synonyms for aggrandize

Antonyms for aggrandize

Related Words

When Should You Use Aggrandize?

Use aggrandize when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

Practice This Word

Frequently Asked Questions