accentuate


Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Encyclopedia.

ac·cen·tu·ate

 (ăk-sĕn′cho͞o-āt′)
tr.v. ac·cen·tu·at·ed, ac·cen·tu·at·ing, ac·cen·tu·ates
1. To stress or emphasize; intensify: "land-reform plans that accentuated the already chaotic pattern of landholding" (James Fallows).
2. To pronounce with a stress or accent.
3. To mark with an accent.

[Medieval Latin accentuāre, accentuāt-, from Latin accentus, accent; see accent.]

ac·cen′tu·a′tion n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

accentuate

(ækˈsɛntʃʊˌeɪt)
vb
(tr) to stress or emphasize
acˌcentuˈation n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ac•cen•tu•ate

(ækˈsɛn tʃuˌeɪt)

v.t. -at•ed, -at•ing.
1. to give emphasis or prominence to.
2. to mark or pronounce with an accent.
[1725–35; < Medieval Latin accentuātus, past participle of accentuāre, derivative of Latin accentus accent]
ac•cen`tu•a′tion, n.
ac•cen′tu•a`tor, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

accentuate


Past participle: accentuated
Gerund: accentuating

Imperative
accentuate
accentuate
Present
I accentuate
you accentuate
he/she/it accentuates
we accentuate
you accentuate
they accentuate
Preterite
I accentuated
you accentuated
he/she/it accentuated
we accentuated
you accentuated
they accentuated
Present Continuous
I am accentuating
you are accentuating
he/she/it is accentuating
we are accentuating
you are accentuating
they are accentuating
Present Perfect
I have accentuated
you have accentuated
he/she/it has accentuated
we have accentuated
you have accentuated
they have accentuated
Past Continuous
I was accentuating
you were accentuating
he/she/it was accentuating
we were accentuating
you were accentuating
they were accentuating
Past Perfect
I had accentuated
you had accentuated
he/she/it had accentuated
we had accentuated
you had accentuated
they had accentuated
Future
I will accentuate
you will accentuate
he/she/it will accentuate
we will accentuate
you will accentuate
they will accentuate
Future Perfect
I will have accentuated
you will have accentuated
he/she/it will have accentuated
we will have accentuated
you will have accentuated
they will have accentuated
Future Continuous
I will be accentuating
you will be accentuating
he/she/it will be accentuating
we will be accentuating
you will be accentuating
they will be accentuating
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been accentuating
you have been accentuating
he/she/it has been accentuating
we have been accentuating
you have been accentuating
they have been accentuating
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been accentuating
you will have been accentuating
he/she/it will have been accentuating
we will have been accentuating
you will have been accentuating
they will have been accentuating
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been accentuating
you had been accentuating
he/she/it had been accentuating
we had been accentuating
you had been accentuating
they had been accentuating
Conditional
I would accentuate
you would accentuate
he/she/it would accentuate
we would accentuate
you would accentuate
they would accentuate
Past Conditional
I would have accentuated
you would have accentuated
he/she/it would have accentuated
we would have accentuated
you would have accentuated
they would have accentuated
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.accentuate - to stress, single out as importantaccentuate - to stress, single out as important; "Dr. Jones emphasizes exercise in addition to a change in diet"
background, play down, downplay - understate the importance or quality of; "he played down his royal ancestry"
set off, bring out - direct attention to, as if by means of contrast; "This dress accentuates your nice figure!"; "I set off these words by brackets"
re-emphasise, re-emphasize - emphasize anew; "The director re-emphasized the need for greater productivity"
bear down - pay special attention to; "The lectures bore down on the political background"
evince, express, show - give expression to; "She showed her disappointment"
topicalize - emphasize by putting heavy stress on or by moving to the front of the sentence; "Speakers topicalize more often than they realize"; "The object of the sentence is topicalized in what linguists call `Yiddish Movement'"
point up - emphasize, especially by identification; "This novel points up the racial problems in England"
press home, ram home, drive home - make clear by special emphasis and try to convince somebody of something; "drive home a point or an argument"; "I'm trying to drive home these basic ideas"
emphasise, underline, underscore, emphasize - give extra weight to (a communication); "Her gesture emphasized her words"
2.accentuate - put stress on; utter with an accent; "In Farsi, you accent the last syllable of each word"
enounce, enunciate, pronounce, sound out, articulate, say - speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way; "She pronounces French words in a funny way"; "I cannot say `zip wire'"; "Can the child sound out this complicated word?"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

accentuate

verb emphasize, stress, highlight, accent, underline, bring home, underscore, foreground, foreground, give emphasis to, call or draw attention to His shaven head accentuates his large round face.
play down, minimize, gloss over, underplay, soft-pedal (informal), make light or little of
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

accentuate

verb
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations

accentuate

[ækˈsentjʊeɪt] VT
1. (lit) [+ syllable, word] → acentuar
2. (fig) [+ need, difference etc] → recalcar, subrayar; [+ colour, feature] → realzar
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

accentuate

[ækˈsɛntʃueɪt] vt
[+ need, difference, problem] → accentuer
[+ physical feature] → faire ressortir
[+ syllable] → accentuer
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

accentuate

vtbetonen; (in speaking, Mus) → akzentuieren; (Ling: = give accent to) → mit einem Akzent versehen; to accentuate the need for somethingdie Notwendigkeit einer Sache (gen)betonen or hervorheben
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

accentuate

[ækˈsɛntjuːeɪt] vt (syllable) → accentuare; (need, difference) → accentuare, mettere in risalto or in evidenza
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
Nowhere, indeed, was any sign or suggestion of life except the barking of a distant dog, which, repeated with mechanical iteration, served rather to accentuate than dispel the loneliness of the scene.
Here and there the brilliant rays penetrated to earth, but for the most part they only served to accentuate the Stygian blackness of the jungle's depths.
As there are precedents for everything, he has only to ignore those that make against his interest and accentuate those in the line of his desire.
Coming in from the eastward, the bright colouring of the lightship marking the part of the river committed to the charge of an Admiral(the Commander-in-Chief at the Nore) accentuates the dreariness and the great breadth of the Thames Estuary.
There's really no escaping 'contouring' to accentuate cheekbones and create a picture-perfect face.
You can also opt to wear scooped necklines to accentuate the more body.
Mr Jones put in PS45,000 into the Neston-based business in July last year and now sales of the game - Accentuate - have risen 90% in the first half of 2016.
Baggy clothes might cover you up but they also accentuate your size and tight clothes can cause a sausage casing effect.
"Accentuate the positives while accepting reality and working to make things better," is what Bryant said.
1 Parallel lines of 70-W T6 track heads accentuate the perimeter of Baldwin Denim, while a line of CFL raw aluminum pendants illuminate the center display.
The annual event, the cinema and Accentuate, the London 2012 legacy programme, together aim to help disabled and deaf people who want to explore their local heritage.