aggrandizementn.

1656 T. Blount Glossographia Aggrandisement, a greatning, inlarging, advancement.

1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti Il Cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa ii. i. 134 They..give themselves over to the aggrandizement of their Nephews.

1738 Visct. Bolingbroke Lett. Study Hist. vii. 7 He had projected the Aggrandizement of France.

1793 E. Pendleton Let. 20 July in Lett. & Papers (1967) II. 607 I was a Whig in principle—considering it as designed for the good of society, and not for the aggrandizement of its officers.

1821 J. Johnson Let. 3 Aug. in Flagg Corr. (1986) 29 These designing men are a combination of the leaders of both the former political parties..whose only patriotism consists in their own agrandisement [sic].

1848 E. Bulwer-Lytton Harold III. xi. iv. 168 Enemies..would..encounter Tostig in every scheme for his personal aggrandizement.

1860 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Mar. 382/2 France..must renounce all schemes of conquest or aggrandisement, respect boundaries and treaties, [etc.].

1901 F. W. Rolfe Chron. House Borgia 179 There was nothing that he might not do for the enrichment of the Papacy of the aggrandisement of the House of Borgia.

1935 H. A. L. Fisher Europe 182 In France..the house of Capet..superseded the effete epigoni of Charlemagne, and started upon a long career of modest but steady aggrandizement.

1971 Sci. Amer. July 6/2 Such a keen interest in muscle activity could lead to the aggrandizement of the role of muscles in neurophysiology.

2008 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 20 Nov. 33/4 The man who held decisive authority in the White House during the Bush years has so far remained unaccountable for the aggrandizement and abuse of executive power.

1738 S. Whatley tr. K. L. von Pöllnitz Mem. III. 130 Amsterdam..owes its Aggrandizement to itself, and its Wealth to its Commerce.

1799 in G. Lamoine Charges to Grand Jury (1992) 619 The contest..is not a question of territory, of aggrandisement, or succession, which the sword is to decide: but..whether we are to retain our old habits, our old usages, our old laws.

1839 G. P. R. James Louis XIV III. 214 That his success and his aggrandizement were intimately united with those of France.

1899 Harper's Weekly 3 June 548/3 Each island was distracted by the conflicts of its several more powerful chiefs, each with his retinue, each striving for greater power and aggrandizement.

1938 Life 21 Nov. 64/2 The aggrandizement of his department is the great dream of his life.

1968 G. Daws Shoal of Time viii. 293 Instead of using their vantage ground for their personal aggrandizement, they devoted their efforts and influence to winning for Hawaii the fullest possible participation in control of its own affairs.

1997 New Yorker 3 Nov. 88/2 [Sinatra's compound in Rancho Mirage]..grew over the years into a kind of metaphor of his aggrandizement, with a helipad, swimming pool, tennis courts, a screening room, and a state-of-the-art kitchen.

1772 Earl of Malmesbury Let. 7 Apr. in Diaries & Corr. (1844) I. 81 She would never submit to any aggrandizement of the King of Prussia's dominions.

1830 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. I. 305 The aggrandizement within the estuaries far more than compensated the losses on the open coast.

1847 Farmer's Mag. Mar. 275/2 But eventually there is a stop put to its aggrandisement, and it begins to follow a downward course; and at last the monarch of the forest is gone.

1901 A. L. P. Dennis Eastern Probl. 18th Cent. ii. 124 She had previously sounded England by a proposal to unite with her in preventing the aggrandizement of Russia and Prussia in Poland.

1983 T. R. Machan & M. B. Johnson Rights & Regulation xi. 256 Historically the state has sought to intervene in the affairs of its citizens when necessary for: (1) the survival or aggrandizement of the state itself; (2) the physical safety and well-being of its citizens; [etc.].