ISEE/SSAT Vocabulary BuilderWordsAaggrandize
ISEE/SSAThard
aggrandize
Meaning: to increase the power, status, or reputation of someone or something
aggrandize in a sentence
How aggrandize is used in real sentences:
The ruler used each military victory to aggrandize his own reputation.
He exaggerated his role in the rescue to aggrandize himself before the press.
“The mayor then tried to aggrandize his office by reserving final decisions for himself, although he possessed no statistical training; timorous junior analysts, fearing lost promotions, hesitated to challenge him.”
— from the passage Who Counts in Dockside
“Yet this ceremony belied a government increasingly shaped by Chancellor Wei, who diverted tax revenues to aggrandize his household and place loyal cousins in provincial offices.”
— from the passage The Ledger Conspiracy
Synonyms for aggrandize
Other words for aggrandize — exalt, elevate and magnify — carry the same meaning.
Antonyms of aggrandize
Words that mean the opposite of aggrandize:
Where it comes from
From French agrandir, meaning 'to enlarge or make greater.'
Word parts
- ad/ac/af/ag/ap/as/at — to or toward
aggrandize: ag- (toward; form of ad-) + grand (large) + -ize (make)
Memory hook
AGGRANDIZE contains GRAND: to aggrandize is to make someone seem grander.
Practice aggrandize in the app