INTENSIFY (intensified)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: intensified   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does intensify mean? 

• INTENSIFY (verb)
  The verb INTENSIFY has 4 senses:

1. increase in extent or intensity

2. make more intense, stronger, or more marked

3. become more intense

4. make the chemically affected part of (a negative) denser or more opaque in order produce a stronger contrast between light and dark

  Familiarity information: INTENSIFY used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INTENSIFY (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they intensify    ... he / she / it intensifies   
Past simple: intensified   
Past participle: intensified   
-ing form: intensifying   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Increase in extent or intensity

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

escalate; intensify; step up

Context example:

The Allies escalated the bombing

Hypernyms (to "intensify" is one way to...):

increase (make bigger or more)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "intensify"):

redouble (double in magnitude, extent, or intensity)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

intensification (action that makes something stronger or more extreme)

intensity (high level or degree; the property of being intense)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make more intense, stronger, or more marked

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

compound; deepen; heighten; intensify

Context example:

This event only deepened my convictions

Hypernyms (to "intensify" is one way to...):

increase (become bigger or greater in amount)

Cause:

deepen; intensify (become more intense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "intensify"):

heat up; hot up; screw up (make more intense)

fan (make (an emotion) fiercer)

enhance; heighten; raise (increase)

amplify (increase the volume of)

sharpen (make crisp or more crisp and precise)

heighten; sharpen (make (one's senses) more acute)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

intensification (action that makes something stronger or more extreme)

intensifier (a modifier that has little meaning except to intensify the meaning it modifies)

intensity (high level or degree; the property of being intense)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Become more intense

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

deepen; intensify

Context example:

His dislike for raw fish only deepened in Japan

Hypernyms (to "intensify" is one way to...):

increase (become bigger or greater in amount)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "intensify"):

build (develop and grow)

redouble (make twice as great or intense)

break open; burst out; erupt; flare; flare up; irrupt (erupt or intensify suddenly)

condense (become more compact or concentrated)

sharpen (become sharp or sharper)

accelerate; quicken; speed; speed up (move faster)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

intensification (action that makes something stronger or more extreme)

intensity (high level or degree; the property of being intense)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Make the chemically affected part of (a negative) denser or more opaque in order produce a stronger contrast between light and dark

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "intensify" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Domain category:

photography (the occupation of taking and printing photographs or making movies)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

intensification (the act of increasing the contrast of (a photographic film))

intensity (chromatic purity: freedom from dilution with white and hence vivid in hue)

 Context examples 

A study conducted at the São Paulo State University (Unesp) shows that music can intensify the effects of drugs against high blood pressure.

(Music believed to boost hypertension treatment, Agência Brasil/EBC)

The point of vulnerability lies in the fact that that solar heated surface water flows into the cavity near a stabilising pinning point, which could be undermined if basal melting intensifies further.

(Rapid melting of the world’s largest ice shelf linked to solar heat in the ocean, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Exposure to light often triggers or intensifies the pain, but the underlying mechanism has been unclear.

(How Light Boosts Migraine Pain, NIH, US)

The images are enhanced by the addition of contrast agents which selectively intensify anatomical regions to intensify the clarity of the image for diagnostic purposes. 2005

(Contrast-enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging, NCI Thesaurus)

As the magnetic disruption from a sunspot approaches Earth, it can intensify the Aurora Borealis and Australis but it also dings the performance of satellites and power grids.

(Sun's mood swings not so strange after all, Wikinews)

The phenomenon, which is only just starting to be understood, is likely to change as global warming intensifies.

(El Niño linked to widespread crop failures, SciDev.Net)

The study notes that it is very likely that the warm pool expansion will continue into the future, with increasing greenhouse gas emissions which may further intensify changes in global rainfall patterns.

(Global disasters linked to warming Indo-Pacific seas, SciDev.Net)

A study conducted at the São Paulo State University (Unesp) shows that music can intensify the effects of drugs against high blood pressure.

(Music believed to boost hypertension treatment, Agenciabrasil/EBC)

He was in a torture of suspense regarding the woman he loved, and his utter ignorance of the terrible mystery which seemed to surround her intensified his pain.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

If Miss Murdstone were in her worst, I intensified it.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)