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To exaggerate; to enlarge upon. [Obs.] A friend exaggerates a man's virtues, an enemy inflames his crimes. Addison.

send; to cause to bear, feel, or suffer; as, to inflict blows; to inflict a wound with a dagger; to inflict severe pain by ingratitude; to inflict punishment on an offender; to inflict the penalty of death on a criminal. What heart could wish, what hand inflict, this dire disgrace Drygen. The persecution and the pain T…

ry; incensed; enraged. [Recent] The irate colonel . . . stood speechless. Thackeray. Mr. Jaggers suddenly became most irate. Dickens.

A sword or dagger. The coward conquest of a wretch's knife. Shak. Knife grass (Bot.) a tropical American sedge (Scleria latifolia), having leaves with a very sharp and hard edge, like a knife. -- War to the knife, mortal combat; a conflict carried to the last extremity.

A Malay dagger. See Creese.

manner like that of; in a manner similar to; as, do not act like him. He maketh them to stagger like a drunken man. Job xii. 25.

s or manifest by a look. Soft eyes looked love to eyes which spake again. Byron. To look daggers. See under Dagger. -- To look in the face, to face or meet with boldness or confidence; hence, sometimes, to meet for combat. -- To look out, to seek for; as, prudent persons look out associates good reputation.…

A sudden roll of a ship to one side, as in heavy weather; hence, a swaying or staggering movement to one side, as that by a drunken man. Fig.: A sudden and capricious inclination of the mind.

The act of magnifying; enlargement; exaggeration. [R.]

To exaggerate; as, to magnify a loss or a difficulty. To magnify one's self (Script.), to exhibit pride and haughtiness; to boast. -- To magnify one's self against (Script.), to oppose with pride.

The dagger held in the left hand, while the rapier is held in the right; -- used to parry thrusts of the adversary's rapier.

A thin-bladed dagger; so called, in the Middle Ages, because used to give the death wound or "mercy" stroke to a fallen adversary.

eating; hence, figuratively, to bind; to sheathe; to restrain from speech or action. "My dagger muzzled." Shak. Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. Deut. xxv. 4.

Without addition, exaggeration, or excuses; not concealed or disguised; open to view; manifest; plain. The truth appears so naked on my side, That any purblind eye may find it out. Shak. All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we to do. Heb. iv. 13.

Springing from true sentiment; not artifical or exaggerated; -- said of action, delivery, etc.; as, a natural gesture, tone, etc.

An exaggerated fear of death or horror of dead bodies.

A mark of reference; -- called also dagger [ ]. See Dagger, n., 2.

To act or perform to excess; to exaggerate in acting; as, he overacted his part.

To exaggerate; as, to overcharge a description. Overcharged mine. (Mil.) See Globe of compression, under Globe.

To do too much; to exceed what is proper or true in doing; to exaggerate; to carry too far. Anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing. Shak.