- increase
- increase vb Increase, enlarge, augment, multiply mean to become or cause to become greater or more numerous.Increase distinctively carries the idea of progressive growth; sometimes it means nothing more than this{
Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man— Lk 2:52
}{Miss Anderson's reputation as an artist increased— Current Biog.
}Sometimes it implies growth in numbers by natural propagation{Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)— Hunt
}or growth in size, amount, or quantity (as by increments or accretions){their salaries increase annually by one hundred dollars
}{his strength will increase when his health improves
}or growth in intensity, especially by degrees or in proportion to something else{the darkness increases the further we advance into the forest
}{your misery increase with your agel—Shak.
}{a series of several situations which progressively increase in humorous possibilities— Kilby
}In transitive use increase may or may not imply progressive growth; often it so stresses the operation or the effectiveness of a cause that it loses the connotation of natural or regular progression{the trustees increased all salaries
}{a rich diet increased her weight
}{the depression increased his misery
}{the girl's actions increased his suspicions
}{good teaching increases one's desire for knowledge
}{many facts unearthed by psychical research and abnormal psychology increase the credibility of some of the more miraculous parts of the gospel narratives— Flew
}Enlarge stresses expansion or extension so that whatever is affected is greater in some or all of its dimensions or in its size or capacity{he enlarged his farm by the purchase of one hundred adjoining acres
}{enlarge a hotel by building a new wing
}In extended use enlarge is applicable primarily to what may be thought of as capable of being made larger or smaller in extent or size; thus, one does not enlarge one's interests or one's activities but the field of one's interests, or the scope of one's activities{enlarge the circle of one's acquaintances
}{enlarge one's capacity for enjoyment
}Nevertheless field, scope, or capacity may be merely implied{its [a constitutional clause's] terms purport to enlarge . . . the powers vested in the government— John Marshall
}{enlarging our personality by establishing new affinities and sympathies with our fellowmen, with nature, and with God— Inge
}{the abundant opportunities which the aesthetic realm provides to enlarge our experience— Hunter Mead
}Augment, like increase, basically implies growth; it rarely, however, carries the implication of progressive growth or growth by degrees, which is often so strong in increase. It differs from increase chiefly in being used in reference to things already well grown or well developed; thus, when one says "the team's confidence increases with every victory" one implies that its confidence was originally not strong; on the other hand, when one says "the team's confidence augments with every victory" one implies that its confidence was never weak. Consequently the distinctive implication of augment is a growing greater, more numerous, larger, or more intense{even an increase of fame served only to augment their industry— Reynolds
}{to fret over unavoidable evils, or augment them by anxiety— Austen
}Multiply implies an increase in number especially by natural generation{every species of animals naturally multiplies in proportion to the means of their subsistence, and no species can ever multiply beyond it— Smith
}Sometimes, however, the word implies increase in numbers by indefinite repetition of things of the same kind{if there were space, we might multiply illustrative citations
}{philosophers who propose to solve certain intellectual problems by multiplying abstractions— Holmer
}{commerce multiplied wealth and comfort— Barr
}Analogous words: *intensify, aggravate, heighten, enhance: *expand, swell, amplify, dilate, distend, inflate: *extend, lengthen, elongate, prolong, protractAntonyms: decrease
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.
