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Bolster vs Increase - What's the difference?

bolster | increase |

As nouns the difference between bolster and increase

is that bolster is a large cushion or pillow while increase is an amount by which a quantity is increased.

As verbs the difference between bolster and increase

is that bolster is to brace, reinforce, secure, or support while increase is to become larger.

bolster

English

Alternative forms

* * (Scotland)

Noun

(en noun)
  • A large cushion or pillow.
  • * Shakespeare
  • And here I'll fling the pillow, there the bolster , / This way the coverlet, another way the sheets.
  • A pad, quilt, or anything used to hinder pressure, support part of the body, or make a bandage sit easy upon a wounded part; a compress.
  • * John Gay
  • This arm shall be a bolster for thy head.
  • A small spacer located on top of the axle of horse-drawn wagons which give the front wheels enough clearance to turn.
  • A short, horizontal, structural timber between a post and a beam for enlarging the bearing area of the post and/or reducing the span of the beam. Sometimes also called a pillow or cross-head (Australian English).
  • The perforated plate in a punching machine on which anything rests when being punched.
  • The part of a knife blade that abuts upon the end of the handle.
  • The metallic end of a pocketknife handle.
  • (label) The rolls forming the ends or sides of the Ionic capital.
  • A block of wood on the carriage of a siege gun, upon which the breech of the gun rests when arranged for transportation.
  • Synonyms

    * Dutch wife

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To brace, reinforce, secure, or support.
  • Anagrams

    * ----

    increase

    English

    Alternative forms

    * encrease

    Verb

    (increas)
  • (of a quantity) To become larger.
  • * Bible, Genesis vii. 17
  • The waters increased and bare up the ark.
  • * Shakespeare
  • The heavens forbid / But that our loves and comforts should increase , / Even as our days do grow!
  • To make (a quantity) larger.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Fenella Saunders, magazine=(American Scientist)
  • , title= Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture , passage=The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail.}}
  • To multiply by the production of young; to be fertile, fruitful, or prolific.
  • * Sir M. Hale
  • Fishes are more numerous of increasing than beasts or birds, as appears by their numerous spawn.
  • (astronomy) To become more nearly full; to show more of the surface; to wax.
  • The Moon increases .

    Synonyms

    * (become larger) go up, grow, rise, soar (rapidly), shoot up (rapidly) * (make larger) increment, raise, (informal) up

    Antonyms

    * (become larger) decrease, drop, fall, go down, plummet (rapidly), plunge (rapidly), reduce, shrink, sink * (make larger) cut, decrease, decrement, lower, reduce

    Derived terms

    * increasable

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An amount by which a quantity is increased.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Philip J. Bushnell
  • , magazine=(American Scientist), title= Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance , passage=Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident. Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term exposure to benzene, another solvent, which has the well-known property of causing this type of cancer.}}
  • For a quantity, the act or process of becoming larger
  • (knitting) The creation of one or more new stitches; see .
  • Synonyms

    * (amount by which a quantity is increased) gain, increment, raise, rise

    Antonyms

    * (amount by which a quantity is increased) cut, decrease, decrement, drop, fall, loss, lowering, reduction, shrinkage