transitive verb
1
: heighten, increase
especially
: to increase or improve in value, quality, desirability, or attractiveness
enhanced the room with crown molding
Did you know?
When enhance was borrowed into English in the 13th century, it literally meant to raise something higher. That sense, though now obsolete, provides a clue about the origins of the word. Enhance, which was spelled enhauncen in Middle English, comes to us from Anglo-French enhaucer or enhauncer («to raise»), which can be traced back to the Latin altus («high») by way of an assumed Vulgar Latin verb inaltiare, which would have been formed by combining the prefix in- with the Latin altus. Although enhance initially applied only to physically making things higher, it developed an additional and less literal sense of «to exalt especially in rank or spirit,» and quickly acquired extended figurative senses for raising the value or attractiveness of something or someone.
Synonyms
Example Sentences
You can enhance the flavor of the dish by using fresh herbs.
The image has been digitally enhanced to show more detail.
The company is looking to enhance its earnings potential.
Recent Examples on the Web
It’s fortified with L-glutamine and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), which are known to enhance muscle protein synthesis and reduce muscle fatigue.
—
Paul Kita, Men’s Health, 5 Apr. 2023
Academia can be an excellent source of novel drug targets and new technologies that can enhance medicinal discovery.
—Dave Greenwald, STAT, 31 Mar. 2023
Those efforts have paid dividends at home and abroad, the AP found: Lawmakers delayed legislation Beijing didn’t like, nixed resolutions that conveyed displeasure with its actions and expressed support in ways that enhanced the Chinese government’s image.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 30 Mar. 2023
In 2022, Congress passed a bipartisan bill that enhanced background checks for gun buyers under 21 and added funding for mental health services and school security.
—Caroline Linton, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2023
Check out Janet Hill Studio for many intriguing portraits that enhance the look.
—Kristina Mcguirk, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Mar. 2023
The jacket’s midi length and long-sleeve silhouette offer solid coverage, helping to protect against the elements, and has six large buttons along with a belt that enhance its overall look.
—Nicol Natale, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2023
The low dosage, 3 grams of sugar per liter, falls into the extra brut category, which enhances both the acidity and the feeling of effervescence on the palate.
—Mike Desimone And Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 28 Mar. 2023
Copper is thought to possess anti-inflammatory properties that may enhance recovery.
—Lindsay Modglin, Health, 28 Mar. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘enhance.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English enhauncen, from Anglo-French enhaucer, enhauncer, from Vulgar Latin *inaltiare, from Latin in + altus high — more at old
First Known Use
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Time Traveler
The first known use of enhance was
in the 13th century
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Dictionary Entries Near enhance
Cite this Entry
“Enhance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enhance. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.
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More from Merriam-Webster on enhance
Last Updated:
7 Apr 2023
— Updated example sentences
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
повышать, усиливать, увеличивать, совершенствовать, усугублять
глагол ↓
- увеличивать, усиливать
the candlelight enhanced her beauty — при свечах она была ещё красивее 
- повышать цену или ценность
- спец. повышать качество (фотографии) с помощью ЭВМ
Мои примеры
Словосочетания
laws designed to enhance national security that some regard as inimical to cherished freedoms — законы, призванные укрепить национальную безопасность, которые некоторыми рассматриваются как враждебные милым их сердцу свободам
to enhance beauty — совершенствовать красоту
enhance the price — повышать цену
enhance security — повышать безопасность
to enhance controllability — повысить контролируемость
enhance campaign — интенсифицировать кампанию; усиливать кампанию
enhance a chance — увеличивать шанс
enhance confidence — укреплять доверие; укрепить доверие; повышать доверие
enhance-definition television — телевидение повышенной чёткости; ТПЧ
enhance deterrence — повысить эффективность сдерживающих средств
enhance discipline — укреплять дисциплину
Примеры с переводом
This will enhance your enjoyment.
Это усилит наслаждение /удовольствие/.
Their living expenses are constantly enhancing.
Их жизненные расходы постоянно растут.
You can enhance the flavor of the dish by using fresh herbs.
Вы можете улучшить вкус блюда, используя свежие травы / зелень.
This sauce will enhance the flavor of the meat.
Этот соус усилит /улучшит/ вкус мяса.
These efforts enhance collaboration between industry and academia.
Эти усилия укрепляют взаимодействие между производством и наукой.
Good lighting will enhance any room.
Хорошее освещение пойдёт на пользу любому помещению.
They’ll be keen to enhance their reputation abroad.
Они будут стремиться улучшить свою репутацию за границей.
ещё 9 примеров свернуть
Возможные однокоренные слова
enhancement — улучшение, усовершенствование, совершенствование
enhancer — усилитель
enhanced — повышать, усиливать, увеличивать, совершенствовать, усугублять
Формы слова
verb
I/you/we/they: enhance
he/she/it: enhances
ing ф. (present participle): enhancing
2-я ф. (past tense): enhanced
3-я ф. (past participle): enhanced
Enhance — En*hance , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Enhanced}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Enhancing}.] [Norm. F. enhauncer, enhaucer, OF. enhaleier, enhaucier; pref. en (L. in) + haucier to lift, raise up, from an assumed L. altiare, fr. L. altus high; cf. Pr. enansar,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
enhance — en‧hance [ɪnˈhɑːns ǁ ɪnˈhæns] verb [transitive] to improve the quality or value of something: • The performance of some Windows programs should be enhanced by the Unix hardware. enhanced adjective : • The plan was to offer senior officers… … Financial and business terms
Enhance — En*hance , v. i. To be raised up; to grow larger; as, a debt enhances rapidly by compound interest. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
enhance — I verb add to, advance in value, aggrandize, ampliricare, amplify, appreciate, augere, augment, better, boost, brighten, cultivate, deepen, develop, elaborate, elevate, emphasize, enlarge, enrich, escalate, exaggerate, expand, extend, heighten,… … Law dictionary
enhance — late 13c., anhaunsen to raise, make higher, from Anglo Fr. enhauncer, probably from O.Fr. enhaucier make greater, make higher or louder; fatten, foster; raise in esteem, from V.L. *inaltiare, from L.L. inaltare raise, exalt, from altare make high … Etymology dictionary
enhance — heighten, *intensify, aggravate Analogous words: iift, elevate, raise: *exalt, magnify, aggrandize: augment, increase: *adorn, embellish, beautify Contrasted words: diminish, reduce, lessen, *decrease: attenuate, extenuate, *thin: belittle,… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
enhance — means ‘to improve or intensify (something already good)’ and is used typically with reference to achievements, reputations, values, effectiveness, efficiency, performance, capability, etc. It is not used with a person as object; The book enhanced … Modern English usage
enhance — [v] improve, embellish add to, adorn, aggrandize, amplify, appreciate, augment, beautify, boom, boost, build up, complement, elevate, embroider, enlarge, exaggerate, exalt, flesh out*, heighten, increase, intensify, lift, magnify, pad*, pyramid* … New thesaurus
enhance — ► VERB ▪ increase the quality, value, or extent of. DERIVATIVES enhancement noun enhancer noun. ORIGIN originally in the sense «elevate»: from Old French enhauncer, from Latin altus high … English terms dictionary
enhance — [en hans′, inhäns′; inhans′, inhäns′] vt. enhanced, enhancing [ME enhauncen < Anglo Fr enhauncer < OFr enhaucier < VL * inaltiare < in , EN 1 + * altiare, to raise < L altus, high] 1. to make greater, as in cost, value,… … English World dictionary
enhance — 01. Eyeshadow [enhances] the natural contours of the eye. 02. When I put flowers on the table, it really [enhances] the room. 03. Reading in English is an excellent way to [enhance] your vocabulary. 04. The clothes she wore [enhanced] her beauty … Grammatical examples in English
Other forms: enhanced; enhancing; enhances
Many people use the expression «enhance your chance» to point out ways to increase your chances of winning or earning a contest or prize. When you enhance something, you heighten it or make it better.
«Hance» is not a word, but the addition of «en-» does something to enhance it and improve its sound. You can enhance the size of something, too, by altering it or raising it, which is what the word original meant (the «hance» part came via French from Latin altus, meaning «high»). When you enhance something you take it to a higher level, like adding salt to French fries to enhance flavor or adding words to enhance your vocabulary.
Definitions of enhance
-
“This will
enhance your enjoyment”-
synonyms:
heighten, raise
-
verb
make better or more attractive
“This sauce will
enhance the flavor of the meat”
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘enhance’.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- inhance, enhaunce, inhaunce (all obsolete)
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English enhauncen, anhaunsen, from Anglo-Norman anhauncer (“enhance, raise”), from Vulgar Latin *inaltiāre (“raise”), derived from Latin in + altus (“high”). The /h/ in Old French was taken from haut (“high”), where it resulted from Frankish influence.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɪnˈhɑːns/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ɪnˈhæns/, /ɛnˈhæns/
- Rhymes: -ɑːns, -æns
Verb[edit]
enhance (third-person singular simple present enhances, present participle enhancing, simple past and past participle enhanced)
- (obsolete) To lift, raise up.
- To augment or make something greater.
-
1831, Robert Southey, Sir Thomas More: Or Colloquies on the Progress and Prospects of Society, page 214:
-
They had no character to preserve, except for courage; and perhaps the reputation of ferocity enhanced the value of their services, in making them feared as well as hated by the people.
-
-
2000, Mordecai Roshwald, Liberty: Its Meaning and Scope, page 155:
-
A hereditary monarch relies on pomp and ceremony, which enhance the respect for the institution
-
-
- To improve something by adding features.
-
1986, Maggie Righetti, Knitting in Plain English, page 192:
-
A pom-pom to top off a stocking cap, a fringe to feather the edge of a shawl, tassels to define the points of an afghan, these are just a few of the delightful little goodies that enhance handknit things.
-
-
- (intransitive) To be raised up; to grow larger.
- A debt enhances rapidly by compound interest.
- (radiology) To take up contrast agent (for an organ, tissue, or lesion).
Synonyms[edit]
- heighten
- See also Thesaurus:improve
Translations[edit]
augment or make something greater — See also translations at augment
- Bulgarian: увеличавам (bg) (uveličavam), повишавам (bg) (povišavam)
- Catalan: augmentar (ca)
- Dutch: vergroten (nl), uitbreiden (nl)
- Esperanto: pliigi
- Finnish: parantaa (fi)
- French: augmenter (fr), accroître (fr)
- German: erhöhen (de), vergrößern (de)
- Italian: accrescere (it), intensificare (it), incrementare (it), avanzare (it), sviluppare (it), rafforzare (it), favorire (it)
- Macedonian: уве́личи pf (uvéliči), увели́чува impf (uvelíčuva)
- Maori: whakamarohi
- Middle English: enhauncen
- Persian: بهتر کردن (behtar kardan)
- Portuguese: aumentar (pt)
- Russian: увели́чивать (ru) impf (uvelíčivatʹ), увели́чить (ru) pf (uvelíčitʹ), повыша́ть (ru) impf (povyšátʹ), повы́сить (ru) pf (povýsitʹ), уси́ливать (ru) impf (usílivatʹ), уси́лить (ru) pf (usílitʹ)
- Spanish: aumentar (es)
- Turkish: artırmak (tr)
- Ukrainian: збільшувати (zbilʹšuvaty)
- Volapük: geilükumön (vo)
improve something by adding features
- Bulgarian: подобря́вам (bg) (podobrjávam)
- Catalan: millorar (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 改善 (zh) (gǎishàn)
- Dutch: uitbreiden (nl), verbeteren (nl)
- Esperanto: plibonigi
- Finnish: parantaa (fi)
- French: améliorer (fr)
- German: verbessern (de)
- Italian: migliorare (it), arricchire (it), potenziare (it), progredire (it), valorizzare (it)
- Macedonian: по́добри (pódobri)
- Maori: whakarākai, whakarāwai, whakangako
- Persian: اضافه کردن (fa) (ezâfe kardan), افزودن (fa) (afzudan)
- Polish: poprawiać (pl), poprawić (pl), polepszać (pl), polepszyć
- Portuguese: melhorar (pt)
- Russian: улучша́ть (ru) impf (ulučšátʹ), улу́чшить (ru) pf (ulúčšitʹ)
- Spanish: realzar (es)
- Swedish: förbättra (sv)
- Turkish: geliştirmek (tr), iyileştirmek (tr)
- Ukrainian: покращувати (pokraščuvaty)
- Volapük: gudükumön (vo)
Middle English[edit]
Verb[edit]
enhance
- Alternative form of enhauncen