accentuate

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /əkˈsɛntʃueɪt/ UK /əkˈsɛntʃueɪt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to make something more noticeable or prominent

The dark frame served to accentuate the painting's vivid colors.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make something more... emphasize highlight stress underline accent intensify heighten

Opposites

downplayunderstate minimize mute

Word family

Forms accentuation

Derived forms accentuation

Related forms accent accented

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

Accentuate the positive

Etymology

From Medieval Latin accentuātus, past participle of accentuāre ('to accent'), from Latin accentus ('intonation, accent'), from ad- ('to') + cantus ('song, singing').

accentus Latin cantus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# accentuate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /əkˈsɛntʃueɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /əkˈsɛntʃueɪt/

## Meanings
1. to make something more noticeable or prominent

## Examples
- The dark frame served to accentuate the painting's vivid colors.

## Synonyms
- emphasize
- highlight
- stress
- underline
- accent
- intensify
- heighten

## Antonyms
- downplay
- understate
- minimize
- mute

## Derived Forms
- accentuation

## Related Forms
- accent
- accented

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: accentus
- Root: cantus

## Etymology
From Medieval Latin accentuātus, past participle of accentuāre ('to accent'), from Latin accentus ('intonation, accent'), from ad- ('to') + cantus ('song, singing').

## AI Etymology
accentuate comes from Medieval Latin accentuātus, past participle of accentuāre ('to accent'), from Latin accentus ('intonation, accent'), from ad- ('to') + cantus ('song, singing'). Morphologically, the word is transparent as a compound: its parts remain visible in the modern spelling, while the older history of those parts supplies the deeper ancestry. In modern use, the verb sense is "to make something more noticeable or prominent", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as accent, accented and derivatives such as accentuation, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include Latin accentus, Latin cantus, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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