Enhance vs. Develop — What's the Difference?
By Fiza Rafique & Urooj Arif — Updated on May 18, 2024
Enhance means to improve or increase the quality, value, or extent of something, while develop means to grow or advance something over time, often through a process of gradual improvement or expansion.
Difference Between Enhance and Develop
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Key Differences
Enhance refers to making something better by adding or improving certain features or qualities. For instance, enhancing a photograph might involve increasing its brightness or contrast to make it more visually appealing. Develop, on the other hand, involves a process of growth or progression, often from a simpler to a more complex form. Developing a skill, for example, involves practice and learning over time to improve one's proficiency.
When you enhance something, you are typically working with an existing entity and making specific improvements. For example, enhancing a software application might involve adding new features to an already functioning program.
Developing something, however, often starts from a foundational level and builds up over time. For example, developing a new product involves research, design, testing, and refinement until it reaches a final, usable state.
Enhance is usually more focused on quality and specific improvements, while develop implies a broader, often more time-consuming process that includes growth and expansion.
In a professional context, enhancing a project might mean refining its details, while developing a project would encompass all stages from conception to completion.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Improve or increase the quality or value
Grow or advance over time
Process
Specific improvements to existing entity
Gradual progression and growth
Example Context
Enhance a photo by adjusting brightness
Develop a new skill through practice
Focus
Quality and specific features
Broad growth and expansion
Starting Point
Existing entity
Foundational or initial stages
Professional Use
Refine details of a project
Encompass all stages of a project
Compare with Definitions
Enhance
To raise to a higher degree.
They used special effects to enhance the movie's visuals.
Develop
To grow or progress over time.
She developed her skills through years of practice.
Enhance
To improve the quality or value of something.
The company plans to enhance the user experience with a new interface.
Develop
To advance or evolve.
The town developed rapidly over the last decade.
Enhance
Intensify, increase, or further improve the quality, value, or extent of
His refusal does nothing to enhance his reputation
Develop
To mature or become more complex.
The plot of the novel developed gradually.
Enhance
To improve or augment, especially in effectiveness, value, or attractiveness
Exercises that enhance cardiovascular health.
Spices that enhance the flavor of a sauce.
Renovations that enhance the neighborhood.
Develop
Grow or cause to grow and become more mature, advanced, or elaborate
Enabling individuals to develop their personal skills
Motion pictures were to develop into mass entertainment
Enhance
(obsolete) To lift, raise up.
Develop
Start to exist, experience, or possess
A strange closeness developed
Call the doctor if your child develops a rash
I developed an interest in law
Enhance
To augment or make something greater.
Develop
Treat (a photographic film) with chemicals to make a visible image
She came to get the film developed
Enhance
To improve something by adding features.
Develop
Bring (a piece) into play from its initial position on a player's back rank
He preferred to develop his bishop on e7
Enhance
(intransitive) To be raised up; to grow larger.
A debt enhances rapidly by compound interest.
Develop
To bring from latency to or toward fulfillment
An instructor who develops the capabilities of each student.
Enhance
(radiology) To take up contrast agent (for an organ, tissue, or lesion).
Develop
To expand or enlarge
Developed a national corporation into a worldwide business.
Enhance
To raise or lift up; to exalt.
Who, naught aghast, his mighty hand enhanced.
Develop
To aid in the growth of; strengthen
Exercises that develop muscles.
Enhance
To advance; to augment; to increase; to heighten; to make more costly or attractive; as, to enhance the price of commodities; to enhance beauty or kindness; hence, also, to render more heinous; to aggravate; as, to enhance crime.
The reputation of ferocity enhanced the value of their services, in making them feared as well as hated.
Develop
To improve the quality of; refine
Develops his recipes to perfection.
An extra year of study to develop virtuosic technique.
Enhance
To be raised up; to grow larger; as, a debt enhances rapidly by compound interest.
Develop
To cause to become more complex or intricate; add detail and fullness to; elaborate
Began with a good premise but developed it without imagination.
Enhance
Increase;
This will enhance your enjoyment
Heighten the tension
Develop
(Music) To elaborate (a theme) with rhythmic and harmonic variations.
Enhance
Make better or more attractive;
This sauce will enhance the flavor of the meat
Develop
To bring into being gradually
Develop a new cottage industry.
Enhance
To increase the attractiveness or effectiveness.
Adding spices can enhance the flavor of the dish.
Develop
To set forth or clarify by degrees
Developed her thesis in a series of articles.
Enhance
To augment or make better.
The software update is designed to enhance performance.
Develop
To come to have gradually; acquire
Develop a taste for opera.
Develop a friendship.
Enhance
To highlight or bring out the best.
The lighting was adjusted to enhance the exhibit.
Develop
To become affected with; contract
Developed a rash.
Developed agoraphobia.
Develop
To influence the behavior of toward a specific end
An investigator who develops witnesses through flattery and intimidation.
Develop
To cause (a tract of land or a building) to serve a particular purpose
Developed the site as a community of condominiums.
Develop
To make available and effective to fulfill a particular end or need
Develop the state's water resources to serve a growing population.
Develop
To convert or transform
Developed the play into a movie.
Develop
(Games) To move (a chess piece) to or toward a more strategic position.
Develop
To process (a photosensitive medium such as exposed film) in order to produce a photographic image.
Develop
To produce (a photographic image) by use of a photosensitive medium or by printing from a digital file.
Develop
To grow by degrees into a more advanced or mature state
With hard work, she developed into a great writer.
Develop
To increase or expand
Sales developed until we needed a bigger warehouse.
Develop
To improve; advance
Their skill developed until it rivaled their teacher's.
Develop
To come gradually into existence or activity
Tension developed between students and faculty.
Develop
To come gradually to light; be disclosed
Reports the news as it develops.
Develop
To progress from earlier to later stages of a life cycle
Caterpillars develop into butterflies.
Develop
To progress from earlier to later stages of evolution
Mammals developed during the Mesozoic Era.
Develop
To acquire secondary sex characteristics. Used especially of a girl.
Develop
To discover, find out; to uncover.
Develop
(intransitive) To change with a specific direction, progress.
Let's see how things develop and then make our decision.
Develop
(ambitransitive) To progress through a sequence of stages.
Isabel developed from a tropical depression to a tropical storm to a hurricane.
An embryo develops into a fetus and then into an infant.
Develop
(transitive) To advance; to further; to promote the growth of.
Develop
(transitive) To create.
I need to develop a plan for the next three weeks.
Develop
(transitive) To bring out images latent in photographic film.
Please develop this roll of film.
Develop
(transitive) To acquire something usually over a period of time.
I have been in England enough to develop a British accent.
You will develop calluses if you play the cello.
She developed bad eating habits.
Develop
To place one's pieces actively.
I need to develop my white-square bishop.
Develop
To cause a ball to become more open and available to be played on later. Usually by moving it away from the cushion, or by opening a pack.
Develop
(math) To change the form of (an algebraic expression, etc.) by executing certain indicated operations without changing the value.
Develop
To free from that which infolds or envelops; to unfold; to lay open by degrees or in detail; to make visible or known; to disclose; to produce or give forth; as, to develop theories; a motor that develops 100 horse power.
These serve to develop its tenets.
The 20th was spent in strengthening our position and developing the line of the enemy.
Develop
To unfold gradually, as a flower from a bud; hence, to bring through a succession of states or stages, each of which is preparatory to the next; to form or expand by a process of growth; to cause to change gradually from an embryo, or a lower state, to a higher state or form of being; as, sunshine and rain develop the bud into a flower; to develop the mind.
The sound developed itself into a real compound.
All insects . . . acquire the jointed legs before the wings are fully developed.
Develop
To advance; to further; to prefect; to make to increase; to promote the growth of.
We must develop our own resources to the utmost.
Develop
To change the form of, as of an algebraic expression, by executing certain indicated operations without changing the value.
Develop
To cause to become visible, as an invisible or latent image upon plate, by submitting it to chemical agents; to bring to view.
Develop
To go through a process of natural evolution or growth, by successive changes from a less perfect to a more perfect or more highly organized state; to advance from a simpler form of existence to one more complex either in structure or function; as, a blossom develops from a bud; the seed develops into a plant; the embryo develops into a well-formed animal; the mind develops year by year.
Nor poets enough to understandThat life develops from within.
Develop
To become apparent gradually; as, a picture on sensitive paper develops on the application of heat; the plans of the conspirators develop.
Develop
Make something new, such as a product or a mental or artistic creation;
Her company developed a new kind of building material that withstands all kinds of weather
They developed a new technique
Develop
Work out;
We have developed a new theory of evolution
Develop
Gain through experience;
I acquired a strong aversion to television
Children must develop a sense of right and wrong
Dave developed leadership qualities in his new position
Develop a passion for painting
Develop
Come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes);
He grew a beard
The patient developed abdominal pains
I got funny spots all over my body
Well-developed breasts
Develop
Come into existence; take on form or shape;
A new religious movement originated in that country
A love that sprang up from friendship
The idea for the book grew out of a short story
An interesting phenomenon uprose
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
Develop
Elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses;
Could you develop the ideas in your thesis
Develop
Create by training and teaching;
The old master is training world-class violinists
We develop the leaders for the future
Develop
Be gradually disclosed or unfolded; become manifest;
The plot developed slowly
Develop
Grow, progress, unfold, or evolve through a process of evolution, natural growth, differentiation, or a conducive environment;
A flower developed on the branch
The country developed into a mighty superpower
The embryo develops into a fetus
This situation has developed over a long time
Develop
Become technologically advanced;
Many countries in Asia are now developing at a very fast pace
Viet Nam is modernizing rapidly
Develop
Cause to grow and differentiate in ways conforming to its natural development;
The perfect climate here develops the grain
He developed a new kind of apple
Develop
Generate gradually;
We must develop more potential customers
Develop a market for the new mobile phone
Develop
Grow emotionally or mature;
The child developed beautifully in her new kindergarten
When he spent a summer at camp, the boy grew noticeably and no longer showed some of his old adolescent behavior
Develop
Make visible by means of chemical solutions;
Please develop this roll of film for me
Develop
Superimpose a three-dimensional surface on a plane without stretching, in geometry
Develop
Move one's pieces into strategically more advantageous positions;
Spassky developed quickly
Develop
Move into a strategically more advantageous position;
Develop the rook
Develop
Elaborate by the unfolding of a musical idea and by the working out of the rhythmic and harmonic changes in the theme;
Develop the melody and change the key
Develop
Happen;
Report the news as it develops
These political movements recrudesce from time to time
Develop
Expand in the form of a series;
Develop the function in the following form
Develop
To create or bring into existence.
The team is developing a new product for the market.
Develop
To improve or refine systematically.
The researcher developed a new theory based on the data.
Common Curiosities
What does 'enhance' mean?
Enhance means to improve or increase the quality, value, or extent of something.
Can 'enhance' be used for existing things?
Yes, enhance is typically used to make specific improvements to something that already exists.
What is an example of enhancing a photo?
Enhancing a photo might involve adjusting its brightness, contrast, or color balance to make it more appealing.
Is 'develop' focused on growth?
Yes, develop focuses on growth, advancement, and the overall progression of something.
What does 'develop' mean?
Develop means to grow or advance something over time, often through a process of gradual improvement or expansion.
Is 'enhance' focused on quality?
Yes, enhance focuses on improving the quality or specific features of something.
How might a company enhance a product?
A company might enhance a product by adding new features or improving its design.
Can 'develop' apply to personal growth?
Yes, developing personal growth involves learning and evolving over time, such as developing emotional intelligence.
Can 'develop' involve starting from scratch?
Yes, develop often involves starting from a foundational level and building up over time.
What is an example of developing a skill?
Developing a skill involves practicing and learning over time to improve proficiency.
Can 'enhance' apply to personal traits?
Yes, one can enhance personal traits, such as enhancing one's public speaking skills through practice and feedback.
Is 'develop' usually a longer process?
Yes, developing something typically involves a longer process of growth and improvement.
How might a company develop a product?
A company develops a product by conducting research, designing, testing, and refining it over time.
Is 'enhance' more specific than 'develop'?
Yes, enhance is more specific and focused on particular improvements, whereas develop is broader and involves comprehensive growth.
Can 'enhance' be a quick process?
Yes, enhancing something can be a relatively quick process, depending on the specific improvements being made.
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Written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
