accentuate
verb/əkˈsentʃueɪt/
/əkˈsentʃueɪt/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they accentuate | /əkˈsentʃueɪt/ /əkˈsentʃueɪt/ |
| he / she / it accentuates | /əkˈsentʃueɪts/ /əkˈsentʃueɪts/ |
| past simple accentuated | /əkˈsentʃueɪtɪd/ /əkˈsentʃueɪtɪd/ |
| past participle accentuated | /əkˈsentʃueɪtɪd/ /əkˈsentʃueɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form accentuating | /əkˈsentʃueɪtɪŋ/ /əkˈsentʃueɪtɪŋ/ |
- accentuate something to emphasize something or make it easier to notice
- Her short hair accentuated her huge eyes.
- The fundamental patterns of inequality have remained and have been accentuated by the war.
- When talks did occur, they tended to accentuate differences between the two groups.
Word Originmid 18th cent.: from medieval Latin accentuat- ‘accented’, from the verb accentuare, from accentus ‘tone’(from ad- ‘to’ + cantus ‘song’), translating Greek prosōidia ‘a song sung to music, intonation’.Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
accentuate