aggrandise

IPA/əˈɡræn.daɪz/
IPA/əˈɡræn.daɪz/

aggrandise — verb

  • aggrandisepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • aggrandises3rd person singular
  • aggrandising-ing form
  • aggrandisedpast simple

1. to increase a person's or group's power, wealth, or status, often in a way that

1.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to increase a person's or group's power, wealth, or status, often in a way that benefits the person doing it

Example

King Henrik aggrandised his loyal knights by granting them land and noble titles.

aggrandise + someone by + -ing (showing the means)

The governor aggrandised herself with daily radio appearances and large front-page photographs.

aggrandise + reflexive pronoun for self-promotion

Common collocations
  • aggrandise oneself
  • aggrandise one's own position
  • self-aggrandising
  • aggrandise someone's role
Synonyms
  • exalt

    more about praise and spiritual elevation; aggrandise is more worldly and often self-serving

  • elevate

    broader — can be literal (physical lifting); aggrandise is always about power or status

  • glorify

    focuses on making something appear more admirable; aggrandise is more concrete about actual power and wealth

Antonyms
  • diminish

    to make someone or something less important or powerful

  • belittle

    to make someone or something seem unimportant, often through words

Grammar Patterns

aggrandise + someone/something

aggrandise + oneself

Usage Note

Always transitive; requires an object. Frequently used reflexively (aggrandise oneself) with a critical tone, suggesting self-interest or inflated self-importance.

Common Mistakes

He aggrandised after the promotion.
He aggrandised himself after the promotion.
'aggrandise' is transitive; it always needs an object.
The writer aggrandised the story with colourful details.
The writer embellished the story with colourful details.
'aggrandise' is about increasing power or importance, not about adding decorative details to a narrative.

Word family

  • aggrandisement
    nounC1
  • self-aggrandising
    adjectiveC1
  • self-aggrandisement
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Aggrandise is the most pragmatic and self-interested of these words: it nearly always implies someone gaining power, wealth, or status for themselves. A politician who aggrandises himself is grabbing real influence or resources, not just seeking praise. Exalt belongs to a higher register and often carries a spiritual or ceremonial weight — you exalt a hero or a deity, not a colleague. Elevate is the most neutral and versatile: you can elevate someone to a new job, elevate a conversation, or elevate your heart rate; it lacks the selfish undertone of aggrandise. Glorify means to make something appear more admirable or splendid than it really is — a film might glorify violence, or a biography might glorify its subject — but it is about reputation and image rather than actual power. Magnify overlaps with aggrandise in the sense of making something larger, but it is more literal (a microscope magnifies) or more neutral (to magnify a problem means to make it seem bigger, not necessarily for selfish gain).

exalt ↗elevate ↗glorify ↗magnify ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • aggrandise oneself
  • self-aggrandising

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchFrenchEnglish

Borrowed in the mid-17th century from French agrandir (to enlarge, to augment), which combines the prefix a- (from Latin ad-, meaning 'towards' or 'to') with grandir (to grow, to increase). Grandir itself derives from Latin grandire (to make great), from grandis (great, large, full-grown). The British spelling retains the French -ise ending; American English shifted to aggrandize under the influence of the Greek-based -ize suffix. The reflexive use (to aggrandise oneself) has carried a critical edge since the 18th century.