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Enhance Has Latin Roots
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
Examples of enhance in a Sentence
Lauren Kent, CNN, 11 Feb. 2025
The phenomenon will visible to the naked eye from Earth’s Western Hemisphere, but will be enhanced with telescopes and binoculars, NASA says.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
The OnePlus Open is a sleek, lightweight, foldable phone with a hinge that's designed with fewer parts and premium materials, feels sturdy, and folds flat, enhancing usability.
—Shubham Yewale, PCMAG, 11 Feb. 2025
Among the standout styles was The Cut’s editor-in-chief Lindsay Peoples, who served a modern take on micro braids—enhanced with a luminous honey-blonde blend.
—Stixx Mathews, Essence, 10 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Enhance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enhance. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
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enhance
verb
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