Library / English Dictionary

AMPLIFY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: amplified   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Increase the volume of

Example:

amplify sound

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "amplify" is one way to...):

compound; deepen; heighten; intensify (make more intense, stronger, or more marked)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

amplifier (electronic equipment that increases strength of signals passing through it)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Exaggerate or make bigger

Example:

The charges were inflated

Synonyms:

amplify; blow up; expand; inflate

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "amplify" is one way to...):

increase (make bigger or more)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "amplify"):

puff up (make larger or distend)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Increase in size, volume or significance

Example:

Her terror was magnified in her mind

Synonyms:

amplify; magnify

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "amplify" is one way to...):

enlarge (become larger or bigger)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

amplifier (electronic equipment that increases strength of signals passing through it)

Sense 4

Meaning:

To enlarge beyond bounds or the truth

Example:

tended to romanticize and exaggerate this 'gracious Old South' imagery

Synonyms:

amplify; exaggerate; hyperbolise; hyperbolize; magnify; overdraw; overstate

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "amplify" is one way to...):

misinform; mislead (give false or misleading information to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "amplify"):

overemphasise; overemphasize; overstress (place special or excessive emphasis on)

blow; bluster; boast; brag; gas; gasconade; shoot a line; swash; tout; vaunt (show off)

aggrandise; aggrandize; blow up; dramatise; dramatize; embellish; embroider; lard; pad (add details to)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

The allele is deleted or altered frequently in neuroblastoma with amplified MYCN genes.

(CDK11B wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

This gene was found to be amplified and overexpressed in malignant gliomas.

(Leucine Rich Repeat Neuronal 5 Protein, NCI Thesaurus)

A technique in which polymerase chain reaction is used to amplify specific nucleic acid sequences in a biospecimen.

(Line Probe Assay, NCI Thesaurus)

The gene is amplified 10- to 20-fold in small-cell lung cancer (SCCL).

(Oncogene LMYC, NCI Thesaurus)

This allele, which encodes neuroblastoma-amplified protein, plays a putative role in the development of neuroblastoma.

(NBAS wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

A modification of the standard polymerase chain reaction that increases the ability to preferentially amplify mutant alleles in the presence of an excess of wild-type molecules.

(Peptide Nucleic Acid Clamping, NCI Thesaurus)

An electronic sensing device designed to amplify low-energy light signals and convert them to electrical pulses.

(Photomultiplier Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

An electronic device designed to detect and amplify light signals.

(Photomultiplier Tube Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

This gene is involved in transcriptional regulation and is frequently amplified in small-cell lung cancer.

(MYCL1 Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

MUC1 antigen is linked with KLH, an immunostimulant and a hapten carrier, in order to enhance immune recognition; the co-administration of saponin-derived QS21 potentially amplifies the total immune response to the MUC1 antigen.

(MUC1-KLH Vaccine/QS21, NCI Thesaurus)