Greatening

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. The act of becoming larger, more significant, or more intense in a particular context
2. The process of enhancing or amplifying the quality, size, or importance of something
3. An advancement or increase that contributes to superiority or excellence in a given area

Etymology: "Greatening" is a plain formation: it is the present participle and gerund of "greaten", which means to become great. That verb came into Middle English as "gretnen", meaning to become great or, in an older sense, to become pregnant, and it was built from the adjective "great" with the verb-forming suffix "-en", the same ending found in "darken" or "lengthen". The older sense of "gretnen" is the detail that stands out. The word once carried the idea of swelling or growing in size, and the pregnancy sense reflects that physical meaning, so the verb's early life was closer to bodily growth than to status or importance. The modern noun and verb uses, meaning larger, more significant, or more intense, follow from the general idea of increase.

Synonyms: increasing, enlarging, expanding, amplifying, enhancing

Antonyms: decreasing, diminishing, reducing, shrinking, lessening