enhance
UK /ɪnˈhɑːns/ · US /ɪnˈhæns/ verb
Forms enhances enhancing enhanced inhance enhaunce inhaunce
- verb (obsolete) To lift, raise up.
- verb To augment or make something greater.
- verb To improve something by adding features.
- verb (intransitive) To be raised up; to grow larger. “A debt enhances rapidly by compound interest.”
- verb (radiology) To take up contrast agent (for an organ, tissue, or lesion).
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English enhauncen, anhaunsen, from Anglo-Norman anhauncer (“enhance, raise”), from Vulgar Latin *inaltiāre (“raise”), derived from Latin in + altus (“high”). The /h/ in Old French was taken from haut (“high”), where it resulted from Frankish influence.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To raise or lift up; to exalt. [Obs.] Wyclif.
- verb To advance; to augment; to increase; to heighten; to make more costly or attractive; as, to enhance the price of commodities; to enhance beauty or kindness; hence, also, to render more heinous; to aggravate; as, to enhance crime.
- verb To be raised up; to grow larger; as, a debt enhances rapidly by compound interest.
Etymology [Norm. F. enhauncer, enhaucer, OF. enhaleier, enhaucier; pref. en- (L. in) + haucier to lift, raise up, from an assumed L. altiare, fr. L. altus high; cf. Pr. enansar, enanzar, to advance, exalt, and E. advance. See Altitude, and cf. Hawser.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “enhance”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details