intensify

Verb
US[in-ten-suh-fahy]/ɪnˈtɛnsəˌfaɪ/4 syllables
Synonyms: escalatestep upcompoundheightendeepen

Open English WordNet

Verb (4)intensified, intensifies, intensifying

  1. increase in extent or intensity“The Allies escalated the bombing”Synonyms: escalatestep upMore general increaseMore specific redouble
  2. make more intense, stronger, or more marked“The efforts were intensified”“Her rudeness intensified his dislike for her”“Pot smokers claim it heightens their awareness”“This event only deepened my convictions”Synonyms: compoundheightendeepenMore general increaseMore specific enhance, fan, sharpen, heat up, amplifyCauses deepen
  3. become more intense“The debate intensified”“His dislike for raw fish only deepened in Japan”Synonyms: deepenMore general increaseMore specific accelerate, erupt, sharpen, condense, build, redouble
  4. make the chemically affected part of (a negative) denser or more opaque in order produce a stronger contrast between light and darkMore general change, alter

Related words intensity noun, intensification noun, chroma noun

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spuriousadjective

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

In·ten′si·fy transitive verb [past tense & past participle Intensified; present participle & verbal noun Intensifying.]

Origin: Intense + -fly.

To render more intense; as, to intensify heat or cold; to intensify colors; to intensify a photographic negative; to intensify animosity. Francis, Baron Verulam Bacon

How piercing is the sting of pride By want embittered and intensified.— Henry W. Longfellow
In·ten′si·fy intransitive verb

To become intense, or more intense; to act with increasing power or energy.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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