Amplification refers to the act or result of increasing the size, volume, or importance of something, often through amplification devices, additional details, or heightened emphasis. It denotes a process of making something more vivid, extensive, or influential, typically by expanding or intensifying[1] its reach or impact. In communication, it can also mean elaborating an argument with added evidence or examples.
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"The scientist discussed the amplification of the signal to improve data clarity."
"Her amplification of the key point helped the audience understand the consequences more clearly."
"The lecture included amplification devices to ensure everyone could hear the presenter."
"The novel’s amplification of themes such as loss and resilience made the message more powerful."
Amplification comes from the Latin root amplificare, meaning 'to enlarge or make larger.' Amplus, meaning 'large, ample,' combines with facere, 'to make' or 'to do.' The form amplified in English entered via Old French amplifer, evolving through Middle English as amplification to describe both physical enlargement and figurative intensification. The term began appearing in scientific and technical contexts in the 17th–18th centuries as researchers discussed enhancing signals, measurements, and optics. By the 19th and 20th centuries, amplification broadened to general discourse, implying the expansion or elaboration of content, arguments, or sensory output. Today, amplification maintains a dual sense: tangible boosting (electrical, acoustic) and figurative expansion (arguments, media coverage). The word has retained its core sense of increasing magnitude, whether in physics, rhetoric, or communication technologies, while its usage has grown to cover nuanced applications like data amplification, signal processing, and narrative elaboration.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "amplification" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "amplification" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "amplification"
-ion sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Typical US pronunciation: /ˌæm.plɪ.fəˈkeɪ.ʃən/. Primary stress is on the third syllable (the ‘ca’-sound). Break it as am-pli-fi-CA-tion, with a light secondary stress on 'pli'. The initial /æ/ is a lax near-front vowel, followed by a schwa in the second syllable. Practice by saying the parts slowly, then connect smoothly. For audio reference, compare to standard dictionaries or Pronounce resources.
Two frequent issues: 1) Misplacing the primary stress on the wrong syllable—say am-PLI-fi-ca-tion with strong emphasis on the third syllable, not the first. 2) Reducing /plə/ to a more clipped /plɪ/ or mispronouncing the final /ʃən/ as /ʃn/; aim for /ˈkeɪ.ʃən/ with a clear /ʃən/ ending. Slow practice with minimal pairs helps fix these patterns.
US typically /ˌæm.pləˈkeɪ.ʃən/ with noticeable rhoticity on the 'a' in 'am' and a clear /keɪ/; UK often /ˌæm.plɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ with shorter first vowel and less strong /ə/ in the second syllable; AU aligns closely with US but may have a slightly flatter vowel in the second syllable and non-rhotic tendencies in rapid speech. Emphasis on /keɪ.ʃən/ remains core across accents.
Three challenges: the three-syllable rhythm and stack of consonants in -mp- and -pl- sequences; coordinating a mid-central schwa in the second syllable with a rising diphthong in -ca- tion; and the nominal stress on the penultimate or antepenultimate depending on dialect. Mastery requires practicing the glide from /m/ into /pl/ without inserting extra vowels, and holding /ˈkeɪ.ʃən/ as a strong, clean syllable.
No, amplification is pronounced with all letters: am-pli-fi-ca-tion. Each syllable carries sound: /æm/ /plə/ /fə/ /ˈkeɪ/ /ʃən/. The common pitfall is reducing vowel sounds or slurring consonant clusters, but there are no silent letters to contend with in standard pronunciation.
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