Antonyms for aggrandize


Grammar : Verb
Spell : uh-gran-dahyz, ag-ruhn-dahyz
Phonetic Transcription : əˈgræn daɪz, ˈæg rənˌdaɪz


Definition of aggrandize

Origin :
  • 1630s, "to make larger, increase," from French agrandiss-, present participle stem of agrandir "to augment" (16c.), ultimately from Latin ad "to" (see ad-) + grandire "to make great," from grandis (see grand (adj.)). The double -g- spelling in English is by analogy with Latin words in ad-. Related: Aggrandized; aggrandizing.
  • verb cause something to seem or be greater, bigger
Example sentences :
  • To aggrandize his own has been for years his sole end and aim.
  • Extract from : « Edmond Dants » by Edmund Flagg
  • The first of these moves was to aggrandize the "Association" to a "Church."
  • Extract from : « Christian Science » by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
  • If the Guises were French princes, their interest would be to aggrandize France.
  • Extract from : « Chicot the Jester » by Alexandre Dumas, Pere
  • The people were virtually enslaved to aggrandize a single person.
  • Extract from : « Beacon Lights of History, Volume II » by John Lord
  • His wish to re-establish his house grew into an ardent desire to aggrandize it.
  • Extract from : « A Love Story » by A Bushman
  • Looking back at his career, it does not appear that he made war with ambitious objects to aggrandize his Empire.
  • Extract from : « The Turkish Empire, its Growth and Decay » by Lord Eversley
  • It became the nobler ambition of Julius to aggrandize the church, and to reassume the protectorate of the Italian people.
  • Extract from : « Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 1 » by Various
  • Imlac now felt the enthusiastic fit, and was proceeding to aggrandize his own profession, when the prince cried out, Enough!
  • Extract from : « Shorter Novels, Eighteenth Century » by Samuel Johnson
  • Are not the large States evidently seeking to aggrandize themselves at the expense of the small?
  • Extract from : « A Source Book in American History to 1787 » by Various
  • Strength is a splendid thing, but it must be used to help other and weaker people, not to aggrandize oneself.
  • Extract from : « Lafayette, We Come! » by Rupert S. Holland

Synonyms for aggrandize

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019