amplify
/ˈamplɪfʌɪ
/verb (amplifies, amplifying, amplified) [with object]
1Increase the volume of (sound), especially using an amplifier: (as adjective amplified) amplified pop music...
- Finally, good sound systems only amplify bad sound.
- You can also improve the sound quality by changing the sample and bit rate or amplifying the sound.
- A microphone picks up ambient sound and amplifies it, and volume control allows you to adjust the level.
Synonyms
louden, make louder, turn up, increase, boost, step up, raise, magnify, intensify, escalate, swell, heighten;
add to, augment, supplement
1.1Increase the amplitude of (an electrical signal or other oscillation): the manufacturers have developed a system of amplifying the radio signal...
- This system reads out the chemical changes electronically, amplifies the electronic signal and further processes it.
- A variable gain amplifier variably amplifies a monitor signal according to the operating mode determined by the gate and outputs an amplified monitor signal.
- The first sampling transistor is configured to sample the same RF input signal that is amplified by the amplifier transistor.
1.2Make (something) more marked or intense: urban policy initiatives amplified social polarization...
- The distorted thinking of some parents who regard their children as mere possessions instead of treating them as independent people only amplifies the social tragedy.
- Terminology aside, it is clear that the capacity of social groups to amplify emotion could not exist were it not for the individual ability to take on board someone else's emotion and feel it in one's own heart.
- She de-magnifies the body and amplifies the urban landscape.
2Enlarge upon or add detail to (a story or statement): the notes amplify information contained in the statement...
- To begin with, I should reiterate and amplify my statement above that I was paying for this purchase with a credit card.
- So he had no cause to amplify the statement that the ‘essential factor in determining liability is whether the damage is of such a kind as the reasonable man should have foreseen’.
- The outcome of any public discussion can never be known with certainty, but chances are that it will amplify stories that imply risks of higher oil prices.
Synonyms
expand, enlarge on, elaborate on, add to, develop, flesh out, add flesh to, add detail to, go into detail about, embroider, supplement, augment, reinforce
3 Genetics Make multiple copies of (a gene or DNA sequence): genomic DNA was amplified using the polymerase chain reaction...
- We performed PCR on wild-type mouse genomic DNA to amplify sequences flanking transposon insertion sites for use as probes.
- Genes were amplified from genomic yeast DNA using specific oligonucleotides and the polymerase chain reaction.
- Primers were designed to amplify this gene sequence specifically.
Origin
Late Middle English (in the general sense 'increase, augment'): from Old French amplifier, from Latin amplificare, from amplus 'large, abundant'.