Broadening
A semantic change process in which a word's meaning becomes more general or expansive. For example, 'go' originally meant 'walk' but broadened to mean 'move in any direction' and 'progress toward'.
Real World
The word 'cool' originally referred only to temperature, but broadened through 1950s jazz culture to mean 'stylish' or 'impressive', and now extends to calm composure ('keep your cool') and casual approval ('that's cool').
Exam Focus
Distinguish broadening from metaphor — broadening is a permanent semantic shift, not a one-off figurative use in a single text.
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