Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
intensify [in-ten-suh-fahy] SynonymsExamplesWord Origin See more synonyms for intensify on Thesaurus.com verb (used with object), in·ten·si·fied, in·ten·si·fy·ing.
- to make intense or more intense.
- to make more acute; strengthen or sharpen.
- Photography. to increase the density and contrast of (a negative) chemically.
verb (used without object), in·ten·si·fied, in·ten·si·fy·ing.
- to become intense or more intense.
Origin of intensify First recorded in 1810–20; intense + -ify Related formsin·ten·si·fi·ca·tion, nounde-in·ten·si·fy, verb, de·-in·ten·si·fied, de·-in·ten·si·fy·ing.o·ver·in·ten·si·fi·ca·tion, nouno·ver·in·ten·si·fy, verb, o·ver·in·ten·si·fied, o·ver·in·ten·si·fy·ing.self-in·ten·si·fied, adjectiveself-in·ten·si·fy·ing, adjectiveun·in·ten·si·fied, adjectiveCan be confusedaggravate intensify worsen (see synonym study at aggravate)Synonyms for intensify See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com 1, 2. deepen, quicken, concentrate. Synonym study 1, 2. See aggravate.Antonyms for intensify 1. alleviate, weaken. Related Words for intensifies aggravate, escalate, boost, raise, increase, strengthen, reinforce, redouble, exacerbate, deepen, enhance, sharpen, heighten, quicken, stress, darken, magnify, augment, point, accentuate Examples from the Web for intensifies Contemporary Examples of intensifies
And Demme, by barely indicating the visual presence of the audience until the end, intensifies the closed-off, hermetic feeling.
The Stacks: Pauline Kael’s Talking Heads Obsession
Pauline Kael
November 22, 2014
Indeed, in conflict situations the rhetoric around honor often intensifies.
How India’s Honor Culture Perpetuates Mass Rape
Amana Fontanella-Khan
July 14, 2014
The Full Moon, Friday, intensifies the need for intimacy to near desperation.
What the Stars Hold for Your Week
Starsky + Cox
July 8, 2011
Yet the gregariousness of the web only intensifies his solitude.
Peter Stothard
August 20, 2010
As the Israel-Palestine conflict drags on, it blocks the resolution of urgent crises and intensifies looming threats to the West.
Stephen Kinzer
May 8, 2010
Historical Examples of intensifies
Benedick, reporting to the same tune, intensifies his misery.
John Masefield
It only intensifies the pain and doesnt work much of a cure.
George Randolph Chester
To place white by the side of a color heightens or intensifies the tone of that color.
C. R. Clifford
Not that the Divine Spirit supersedes their human faculties, but He intensifies them.
Various
There are snow fields to cross, which intensifies the action.
Frederic Remington
British Dictionary definitions for intensifies intensify verb -fies, -fying or -fied
- to make or become intense or more intense
- (tr) to increase the density of (a photographic film or plate)
Derived Formsintensification, noun Word Origin and History for intensifies intensify v.
1817, from intense + -ify, first attested in Coleridge, in place of intend, which he said no longer was felt as connected with intense. Middle English used intensen (v.) “to increase (something), strengthen, intensify,” early 15c. Related: Intensified; intensifying.