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enhance

/ɪnˈhæns/·verb

to improve something further that is already good — its quality, value, or appeal
Fig. 1 — The photograph was never bad — that is the point the slider makes twice.
01Definition

To enhance is to raise what already works. The word walked into English from Old French enhaucier, 'to make higher' — Latin altus, high, hides in the middle — and the upward image still governs its grammar: you enhance a reputation, a flavour, an image, never a disaster. Where increase adds amount and amplify adds strength, enhance adds quality; the object was good before the verb arrived and is better after, which makes it praise as much as description.

02In use
  • iFresh herbs enhance a dish that was already well made.
  • iiThe new lighting enhances the gallery's best paintings without touching them.
  • iiiA second language enhances a graduate's prospects in almost every field.
03Collocations
  • enhance the quality of
  • enhance performance
  • greatly enhance
  • enhance a reputation
  • digitally enhanced

Family enhancement (noun) · enhanced (adjective) · enhancer (noun)

04Relations

=amplify, augment, enrich, elevate, improve

≠diminish, degrade, mar

06TOEFL & IELTS

A textbook BATH-vowel split: American en-HANSS /ɪnˈhæns/, British en-HAHNSS /ɪnˈhɑːns/ — worth practising in whichever accent you use. In essays it is the upgrade for 'make better' when the object is already positive: technology enhances communication, exercise enhances concentration. Pair it with quality nouns, not quantities — you increase the number of buses but enhance the quality of the service; markers notice the distinction.

07Asked
How is enhance pronounced in British and American English?
The vowel splits on the classic BATH line: Americans say /ɪnˈhæns/ with the TRAP vowel, RP and most southern-England speakers say /ɪnˈhɑːns/ with a long open AH — the same split as dance, chance and answer. Stress falls on the second syllable in both. Neither is more correct; consistency with your other BATH words is what sounds native.
What is the difference between enhance and improve?
Improve works on anything, including the broken; enhance only raises what is already good. You improve a failing grade but enhance a strong application. That starting point is the whole nuance: in the scene above the slider never fixes the photograph — there was nothing wrong with it — it lifts colours that were already there. If the object has a problem, use improve; if it has promise, enhance.
What is the difference between enhance and increase?
Increase is arithmetic — more of something countable: increase the budget, the temperature, the number of staff. Enhance is qualitative — better, richer, more effective: enhance the flavour, the design, the experience. The pairing test is the noun: if it takes a number, increase it; if it takes an adjective like 'good', enhance it. 'Enhance the amount' is the collocation error to avoid.
Is enhance formal? Can I use it in everyday conversation?
It sits a register above its everyday synonyms — in conversation people say 'make it better' or 'bring out'; enhance belongs to writing, advertising and presentations. That formality is exactly why it earns marks in essays and sounds slightly stiff over coffee. Use it freely in academic writing, along with its noun enhancement ('performance enhancement'); in Speaking, deploy it once where it genuinely fits rather than everywhere 'better' would do.
What does 'enhanced' mean for photos and videos?
Digitally processed to look better than the raw capture — sharpened, brightened, colour-corrected, today often by AI. The usage is neutral for ordinary editing but earns quotation marks when it shades into alteration: an 'enhanced' image in journalism raises questions an enhanced contrast setting does not. The scene's slider shows the honest end of the spectrum: same picture, qualities raised.