Useful additions or amendments . . . . . To use to good purpose . . . . To advance or make progress in what is already desirable . . . .
To make more acceptable or to bring nearer to an existing standard
Increase the value of . . . . To invest profitably
R E F E R E N C E S
Improve vb improved; improving [AF emprouer to invest profitably, fr. OF en- + prou advantage, fr. LL prode -more at Proud] vt [ca. 1529] 1 archaic. Employ, Use 2a: to enhance in value or quality: make better b: to increase the value of [land or property] by making it more useful for humans [as by cultivation or the erection of buildings] c: to grade and drain [a road and apply sufacing material other than pavement 3: to use to good purpose _vi 1: to advance or make progress in what is desirable 2: to make useful additions or amendments
-Syn. Improve, Better, Help, Ameliorate mean to make more acceptable or to bring nearer to standard. Improve and Better are general and interchangeable and apply to what can be made better whether it is good or bad [measures to further improve the quality of medical care] [immigrants hoping to better their lot]. Help implies a bettering that still leaves room for improvement [a coat of paint would help that house] Ameliorate implies making more tolerable or acceptable conditions that are hard to endure [tried to ameliorate the lives of people in the tenements]
Improvement n [ca. 1550] 1: the act or process of improving 2a: the state of being improved; esp: enhanced value or excellence b: an instance of such improvement: something that enhances value or excellence
[Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition. Springfield, MA, USA: Merriam-Webster, Inc. 1995.]
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