Augmented

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ɔːɡˈmɛntɪd/

Definitions

1. Enhanced in size, value, or quality by external modifications
2. Increased or intensified beyond the original state through additions or improvements
3. Extended or enlarged in scope, magnitude, or effectiveness from an initial baseline

Etymology: The adjective "augmented" is a participle form of the verb "augment", so its story is really the story of the verb. The root is Latin "augere", meaning "to increase", which also gave English words like "auction" through a different path, although that connection is less direct than it looks. From "augere" came the noun "augmentum", meaning an increase or growth, and Late Latin built the verb "augmentare" from it. That verb passed into Old French as "augmenter" and then into Middle English as "augmenten", so English received it through French rather than straight from Latin. Over the centuries it has kept its core sense of making something bigger, whether in size, amount or value, and the adjective carries that sense forward. A thing that has been augmented has been made larger by addition rather than by growing naturally, which is the distinction the Latin root "augere" still preserves.

Synonyms: enhanced, increased, amplified, expanded, boosted

Antonyms: diminished, reduced, decreased, lessened, abated