"Augment" vs. "lengthen": expanding beyond dimensions

Reviewed and edited by

Lloyd Cooper 12/10/2024, 00:27

English.me team member

Augment and lengthen. What's the difference?

What is similar?

Both words involve the concept of making something larger or longer. Both can be used in a variety of contexts, such as time, physical size, or abstract concepts.

What is different?

Augment typically implies adding or increasing something in quantity, size, or degree, often improving or enhancing it. Lengthen specifically refers to increasing the physical or temporal length of something.

Which one is more common?

Examples of usage

Augment

The company plans to augment its workforce by hiring more engineers.
She took a course to augment her skills in project management.
The artist decided to augment the painting with additional colors.

Lengthen

The tailor needs to lengthen the sleeves of the jacket.
We need to lengthen the meeting by another hour to cover all topics.
She decided to lengthen her hair by getting extensions.