intensify Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb increase in extent or intensity
    escalate; step up.
    • The Allies escalated the bombing
  2. verb make more intense, stronger, or more marked
    heighten; deepen; compound.
    • The efforts were intensified", "Her rudeness intensified his dislike for her
    • Pot smokers claim it heightens their awareness
    • This event only deepened my convictions
  3. verb become more intense
    deepen.
    • The debate intensified
    • His dislike for raw fish only deepened in Japan
  4. verb make the chemically affected part of (a negative) denser or more opaque in order produce a stronger contrast between light and dark

WordNet

In*ten"si*fy transitive verb
Etymology
Intense + -fly.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Intensified ; present participle & verbal noun Intensifying
Definitions
  1. To render more intense; as, to intensify heat or cold; to intensify colors; to intensify a photographic negative; to intensify animosity. Bacon.
    How piercing is the sting of pride By want embittered and intensified. Longfellow.
In*ten"si*fy intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To become intense, or more intense; to act with increasing power or energy.

Webster 1913