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enhance

 - 3 dictionary results

en⋅hance

  [en-hans, -hahns]
–verb (used with object), -hanced, -hanc⋅ing.
1. to raise to a higher degree; intensify; magnify: The candelight enhanced her beauty.
2. to raise the value or price of: Rarity enhances the worth of old coins.
Use enhance in a Sentence
Origin:
1325–75; ME enhauncen < AF enhauncer, appar. for OF enhaucer, equiv. to en- en- 1 + haucer to raise (F hausser) < VL *altiāre (deriv. of L altus high, with h- < Gmc; see haughty ), though -n- is unexplained

Related forms:
en⋅hance⋅ment, noun
en⋅hanc⋅ive, adjective

Synonyms:
2. See elevate.

Antonyms:
1. diminish. 2. reduce.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To enhance
en·hance   (ěn-hāns')   
tr.v.   en·hanced, en·hanc·ing, en·hanc·es

  1. To make greater, as in value, beauty, or effectiveness; augment.

  2. To provide with improved, advanced, or sophisticated features: computer software enhanced with cutting-edge functionalities.


[Middle English enhauncen, from Anglo-Norman enhauncer, variant of Old French enhaucier, from Vulgar Latin *inaltiāre, from Late Latin inaltāre : Latin in-, causative pref.; see en-1 + Latin altus, high; see al-2 in Indo-European roots.]
en·hance'ment n., en·hanc'er n., en·hanc'ive adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

enhance 
c.1280, from Anglo-Fr. enhauncer, from O.Fr. enhaucier "make greater," from V.L. *inaltiare, from L.L. inaltare "raise, exalt." The -h- in O.Fr. supposedly from infl. of Frankish word for "high."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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