improve

im·prove  (m-prv)

v. im·proved, im·prov·ing, im·proves

v.tr.

1. To raise to a more desirable or more excellent quality or condition; make better.

2. To increase the productivity or value of (land or property).

3. To put to good use; use profitably.

v.intr.

1. To become better.

2. To make beneficial additions or changes: improve on the translation.

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[Middle English improwen, to enclose land for cultivation, from Anglo-Norman emprouwer, to turn to profit : Old French en-, causative pref. (from Latin in-; see in-²) + Old French prou, profit (from Late Latin prde, advantageous; see proud).]

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im·prova·ble adj.

im·prova·bly adv.

Synonyms: improve, better¹, help, ameliorate
These verbs mean to advance to a more desirable, valuable, or excellent state. Improve and better, the most general terms, are often interchangeable: You can improve (or better) your mind through study; I got a haircut to improve (or better) my appearance.
Help usually implies limited relief or change: Gargling helps a sore throat.
To ameliorate is to improve circumstances that demand change: Volunteers were able to ameliorate conditions in the refugee camp.

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improve

Verb

[-proving, -proved]

1. to make or become better in quality

2. improve on to achieve a better standard or quality in comparison with: both had improved on their previous performance [Anglo-French emprouer to turn to profit]

improvable adj

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	improve - to make better; "The editor improved the manuscript with his changes" ameliorate, meliorate, amend, better alleviate, relieve, palliate, assuage - provide physical relief, as from pain; "This pill will relieve your headaches" aid, help - improve the condition of; "These pills will help the patient" revitalize, regenerate - restore strength; "This food revitalized the patient" alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" enrich - make better or improve in quality; "The experience enriched her understanding"; "enriched foods" build up, develop - change the use of and make available or usable; "develop land"; "The country developed its natural resources"; "The remote areas of the country were gradually built up" ameliorate, improve, meliorate, better - get better; "The weather improved toward evening" turn around - improve dramatically; "The new strategy turned around sales"; "The tutor turned around my son's performance in math" help - improve; change for the better; "New slipcovers will help the old living room furniture" upgrade - to improve what was old or outdated; "I've upgraded my computer so I can run better software"; "The company upgraded their personnel" condition - put into a better state; "he conditions old cars" emend - make improvements or corrections to; "the text was emended in the second edition" iron out, put right, straighten out - settle or put right; "we need to iron out our disagreements" enhance - make better or more attractive; "This sauce will enhance the flavor of the meat" fix, furbish up, mend, repair, bushel, doctor, touch on, restore - restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken; "She repaired her TV set"; "Repair my shoes please" reform - make changes for improvement in order to remove abuse and injustices; "reform a political system" reform - improve by alteration or correction of errors or defects and put into a better condition; "reform the health system in this country" beautify, fancify, prettify, embellish - make more beautiful build - improve the cleansing action of; "build detergents" perfect, hone - make perfect or complete; "perfect your French in Paris!" fine-tune, refine, polish, down - improve or perfect by pruning or polishing; "refine one's style of writing" distill, make pure, purify, sublimate - remove impurities from, increase the concentration of, and separate through the process of distillation; "purify the water" fructify - make productive or fruitful; "The earth that he fructified" lift, raise - invigorate or heighten; "lift my spirits"; "lift his ego" advance - develop further; "We are advancing technology every day" upgrade - give better travel conditions to; "The airline upgraded me when I arrived late and Coach Class was full" educate - give an education to; "We must educate our youngsters better"
	2.	improve - get better; "The weather improved toward evening" ameliorate, meliorate, better convalesce, recover, recuperate - get over an illness or shock; "The patient is recuperating" heal - get healthy again; "The wound is healing slowly" change state, turn - undergo a transformation or a change of position or action; "We turned from Socialism to Capitalism"; "The people turned against the President when he stole the election" see the light, straighten out, reform - change for the better; "The lazy student promised to reform"; "the habitual cheater finally saw the light" surge - see one's performance improve; "He levelled the score and then surged ahead" turn around, pick up - improve significantly; go from bad to good; "Her performance in school picked up" ameliorate, improve, meliorate, amend, better - to make better; "The editor improved the manuscript with his changes" bounce back, get well, get over - improve in health; "He got well fast" heal, mend - heal or recover; "My broken leg is mending" fructify - become productive or fruitful; "The seeds fructified" upgrade - get better travel conditions; "I upgraded to First Class when Coach Class was overbooked"

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improve

verb 1. enhance, better, add to, upgrade, amend, mend, augment, embellish, touch up, ameliorate, polish up << OPPOSITE worsen

verb 2. get better, pick up, look up (informal) develop, advance, perk up, take a turn for the better (informal)

verb 3. recuperate, recover, rally, mend, make progress, turn the corner, gain ground, gain strength, convalesce, be on the mend, grow better, make strides, take on a new lease of life (informal)

Translations

improve [ɪmˈpruːv] vt → mejorar [+ foreign language]; perfeccionar

vi → mejorar

improve (up)on vt fus [+ offer] → mejorar

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improve [ɪmˈpruːv] vt → améliorer

vi → s'améliorer; [pupil etc] → faire des progrès

improve on, improve upon vt fus [+ offer] → enchérir sur

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improve [ɪmˈpruːv] vt → verbessern

vi → sich bessern;

the patient is improving → dem Patienten geht es besser

improve (up)on improve vt fus → verbessern

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improve [ɪmˈpruːv] vt → migliorare

vi → migliorare; [pupil etc] → fare progressi

improve (up)on vt fus [+ offer] → aumentare

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improve

v improve [imˈpruːv]

to (cause to) become better, of higher quality etc His work has greatly improved; They recently improved the design of that car. verbeter يُحَسِّن подобрявам zlepšit (se) forbedre verbessern βελτιώνω, βελτιώνομαι mejorar, perfeccionar parandama, paranema بهتر شدن parannella, kohentua (s')améliorer לְשַפֵּר सुधारना, सुधरना poboljšati javul; javít; fejleszt meningkatkan, memperbaiki bæta, laga migliorare 良くする 개선되다[] pagerinti, patobulinti, pagerėti uzlabot; pilnveidot; uzlaboties; pilnveidoties meningkatkan verbeteren (for)bedre, forskjønne polepszyć się, ulepszyć melhorar a (se) îmbunătăţi улучшать(ся) zlepšiť (sa), napraviť (sa), zdokonaliť izboljšati (se) poboljšati förbättra ดีขึ้น geliş(tir)mek, iyileş(tir)mek, düzel(t)mek 使更好 удосконалювати(ся) بہتر بننا یا بنانا cải thiện 使更好

n imˈprovement

1 the state or act of improving or being improved There has been a great improvement in her work; The patient's condition shows some improvement. verbetering تَحْسين، تَحَسُّن подобрение zlepšení forbedring die Verbesserung βελτίωση mejora paranemine پیشرفت edistys amélioration שִיפּוּר सुधार poboljšanje javulás peningkatan, perbaikan úrbót, lagfæring miglioramento 改良 개선 pagerėjimas, patobulinimas uzlabojums; uzlabošanās menjadi lebih baik verbetering (for)bedring, framskritt polepszenie melhoria îmbu­nă­tăţire улучшение zlepšenie izboljšanje poboljšanje förbättring การแก้ไข düzelme, gelişme, iyileşme 進步 поліпшення بہتری sự cải tiến 进步

2 something which improves, or adds beauty, value etc I've made several improvements to the house. verbetering تَحْسين подобрение vylepšení forbedring die Verbesserung βελτίωση mejora täiustus بهسازی parannus amélioration שְׁכלוּל बेहतर होना dotjerivanje tökéletesítés perbaikan umbætur miglioramento 改良 개량된 것 patobulinimas uzlabošana; pilnveidošana memperbaiki verbetering forbedring, forskjønnelse poprawka melhoramento îmbunătăţire усовершенствование zdokonalenie izboljšava poboljšanje förbättring การทำให้ดีขึ้น değişiklik 改進措施 удосконалення اضافہ sự sửa sang 经改进的东西

improve on

to produce something which is better, more useful etc than I think I can improve on that suggestion. verbeter op يُدْخِل تَحْسينات على подобрявам zdokonalit, vylepšit forbedre verbessern δημιουργώ κτ. καλύτερο mejorar, perfeccionar täiustama بهتر کردن panna paremmaksi améliorer לְשַׁפֵּר से बेहतर करना to bolje (tovább)fejleszt memperbaiki bæta við, gera betur migliorare ～を改良する 개량하다 pagerinti, patobulinti uzlabot memperbaiki verbeteren forbedre (på), pynte på ulepszyć melhorar a ameliora улучшать, усовершенствовать zdokonaliť izpopolniti uraditi bolje överträffa, bättra på การปรับปรุง daha iyisini yapmak 作出比...更好的東西 удосконалювати کسی چیز میں بہتری لانا hoàn thiện 作出比...更好的东西