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accentuate

verb

Simple meaning

Put stress on.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

aksehnchooayt

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ækˈsɛntʃueɪt

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Put stress on; utter with an accent

  2. transitive

    To pronounce with an accent or vocal stress.

  3. transitive

    To bring out distinctly; to make more noticeable or prominent; to emphasize.

  4. transitive

    To mark with a written accent.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient
Frequency
Rare
Typical Use
Primarily written

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Put stress on; utter with an accent

To 'accentuate' means to make something more noticeable or prominent. It implies drawing attention to a particular feature, often for emphasis or to highlight. 'Emphasize' is a close synonym.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Where you'll really hear it

  • Fashion advice

    “This belt will accentuate your waistline beautifully.”

  • Public speaking tips

    “Use your voice inflection to accentuate key points in your speech.”

  • Art critique

    “The bright colors accentuate the contrast in the painting.”

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

further accentuateaccentuate rathermerely accentuate

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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: put stress on

accent

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.