AGGRANDIZE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Aggrandize

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/əgrˈændˌaɪz/ Listen

verb

Aggrandize v. t. (past & past part. aggrandized; pres. part. aggrandizing)

To make great; to enlarge; to increase; as, to aggrandize our conceptions, authority, distress.

To make great or greater in power, rank, honor, or wealth; applied to persons, countries, etc. "His scheme for aggrandizing his son."

To make appear great or greater; to exalt.

Synonyms: To augment; exalt; promote; advance.

Aggrandize v. i. To increase or become great. (Obs.) "Follies, continued till old age, do aggrandize."

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Etymology of 'Aggrandize'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Aggrandize" Quotes from Famous Books

... not to aggrandize or enrich the Pope. He ascends the Papal chair generally an old man, when human passion and human ambition, if any did exist, are on the wane. His personal expenses do not exceed a few dollars a day. He eats alone and very ...

— The Faith of Our Fathers • James Cardinal Gibbons

... the pacific medium of persuasion. The difficult mission of holding in check the natural passions and instincts of a race which knew no law but individual will, was left to the successors of Urdaneta. Indeed, it was but the general policy of Philip II. to aggrandize his vast realm under the pretence of rescuing benighted souls. The efficacy of conversion was never doubted for a moment, however suddenly it might come to pass, and the Spanish cavalier conscientiously felt ...

— The Philippine Islands • John Foreman

... about the dead; And some in books of solace read; Some to their friends the tidings say; Some went to write, some went to pray; One tarried here, there hurried one; But their heart abode with none. Covetous death bereaved us all, To aggrandize one funeral. The eager fate which carried thee Took the largest part of me: For this losing is true dying; This is lordly man's down-lying, This his slow but sure reclining, Star ...

— Poems - Household Edition • Ralph Waldo Emerson

... practically assented to this choice. Nothing further, however, was done about it; and when, in the autumn of 1518, the papal legate with his proclamations of pardon appeared in Sweden, the chapter began to look toward him for help. Arcimboldo was not the man to let slip an opportunity to aggrandize himself. He therefore was prepared to listen impartially to the arguments on every side, and as papal legate to use his authority in favor of the highest bidder. Now, it required little sagacity to see that Trolle, whose cause the king of Denmark had commissioned him to urge, ...

— The Swedish Revolution Under Gustavus Vasa • Paul Barron Watson

... the society. A good prince does not ask what will be for the interest of a county or small district in his dominions, but what will promote the prosperity of his kingdom. In the same manner, the citizens of this New World should inquire, not what will aggrandize this town or that State, but what will augment the power, secure the tranquillity, multiply the subjects, and advance the opulence, the dignity, and the virtues, of the United States. Self-interest, both in morals ...

— Noah Webster - American Men of Letters • Horace E. Scudder

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