Definition

1. Verb:
   • To make something larger, greater, or more intense by adding to it; to increase in size, number, amount, or strength. This is the core meaning, focusing on the act of causing growth or enhancement.
   • To grow or intensify. This meaning describes the process of something increasing by itself or becoming more pronounced.

Examples of Usage

• Verb (Transitive - making something larger/increasing):
  • She took a second job to augment her income.
  • The chef used spices to augment the flavor of the dish.
• Verb (Intransitive - growing/intensifying):
  • The sound of the storm augmented throughout the night.
  • As the crisis continued, public anxiety *augmented.

Advanced Usage

• In Linguistics: In grammar, "augment" can refer to a prefix or other element added to a word, especially in certain verb forms in classical languages (e.g., Greek). This is a specialized, technical usage.
  • The aorist tense in Greek is often formed with an augment.
• Formal/Technical Contexts: The word is commonly used in formal, academic, or technical writing (e.g., music, medicine, linguistics, military strategy) rather than everyday casual speech.
  • The general decided to augment his forces with fresh reinforcements.

Variants and Related Words

• Augmentation (noun): The act or process of augmenting, or the amount by which something is augmented.
  • The augmentation of the dataset improved the AI model's accuracy.
• Augmented (adjective): Having been made larger or more substantial.
  • The concert featured an augmented orchestra.

Synonyms

• Increase
• Enlarge
• Enhance
• Boost
• Amplify
• Intensify

Antonyms

• Decrease
• Diminish
• Reduce
• Lessen

Related Phrases

• Augmented reality (noun phrase): A technology that superimposes computer-generated images on a user's view of the real world. (Note: This is a compound term listed here as a related concept, not a direct usage of the verb "augment").
  • The museum tour uses augmented reality to bring historical scenes to life.

Verb

1. grow or intensify
   • The pressure augmented
2. enlarge or increase
   • The recent speech of the president augmented tensions in the Near East