enlarge

To make something bigger.

• Click here to enlarge the photo.
• They enlarged the kitchen last year.
• Can you enlarge the text so I can read it?

How to use it: enlarge something to something (Can you enlarge the picture to twice its size?)

Similar words: make bigger, expand, magnify

Opposites: reduce, shrink

Common phrases: enlarge a photo, enlarge an image, enlarge the room

To increase what something can include, achieve, or help you understand.

• Travel can enlarge your understanding.
• The new law enlarged the council’s powers.
• Reading widely has enlarged her knowledge of other cultures.

Similar words: broaden, extend, expand

Opposites: limit, narrow

Common phrases: enlarge someone’s understanding, enlarge the scope, enlarge someone’s powers

To speak or write about a subject in greater detail.

• Please enlarge on that point.
• She enlarged upon her proposal during the meeting.
• The author enlarges on this subject in the final chapter.

How to use it: enlarge on something (Could you enlarge on your reasons for leaving?); enlarge upon something (The speaker enlarged upon the benefits of the plan.)

Similar words: elaborate, expand

Common phrases: enlarge on something, enlarge upon something