Webster's English Dictionary

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improve

im.prove \im-'pru:v\ vb [AF emprouer to invest profitably, fr. OF en- + 
   prou advantag]e, fr. LL prode - more at PROUD 1: to make greater in amount 
   or degree  2a: to enhance in value or quality : make better  2b: to 
   increase the value of (land or property) by betterment (as cultivat ion or 
   the erection of buildings) 2c: to grade and drain (a road) and apply 
   surfacing material other than pa vement archaic  3: EMPLOY, USE  4: to turn 
   to good account  1a: INCREASE  1b: to rise in value  2: to grow better  3: 
   to make useful additions or amendments {~ on the carburetor}  ke more 
   acceptable or bring nearer some standard. IMPROVE and BETTER are general 
   and interchangeable and apply to what is capable of being made better 
   whether it is good or bad; HELP implies a bettering that still leaves room 
   for improvement; AMELIORATE implies making more tolerable or acceptable 
   conditions that are hard to endure - im.prov.er n SYN syn IMPROVE, BETTER, 
   HELP, AMELIORATE mean to ma