intensifier

American  

[in-ten-suh-fahy-er] / ɪnˈtɛn səˌfaɪ ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that intensifies.

2. Grammar. a word, especially an adverb, or other linguistic element that indicates, and usually increases, the degree of emphasis or force to be given to the element it modifies, as very or somewhat; intensive adverb.

3. a ram-operated device for increasing hydraulic pressure.

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intensifier British  

/ ɪnˈtɛnsɪˌfaɪə /

noun

1. a person or thing that intensifies

2. a word, esp an adjective or adverb, that has little semantic content of its own but that serves to intensify the meaning of the word or phrase that it modifies: awfully and up are intensifiers in the phrases awfully sorry and cluttered up

3. a substance, esp one containing silver or uranium, used to increase the density of a photographic film or plate Compare reducer

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Etymology

Origin of intensifier

First recorded in 1825–35; intensify + -er ¹

Example Sentences

It’s an intensifier — a force that amplifies and worsens existing conditions.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 24, 2025

It got to the point where Ringo Starr began to affectionately refer to White as “that other drummer,” sometimes adding a playful intensifier to the phrase.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 7, 2021

“I guess it’s worth it to me. I do like swearing, and occasionally, in the stories we’re talking about, a well-placed intensifier feels necessary, to take a little of the air out of a subject.”

From The Guardian • Feb. 24, 2018

For a start, there are those tacky, guess-what-I-know quotation marks around “tapes,” but more distinctive is the word “better,” wielded as an intensifier.

From The New Yorker • Jun. 9, 2017

As soon as you add an intensifier, you’re turning an all-or-none dichotomy into a graduated scale.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker