Did you know?
When you accentuate something you put an “accent,” or emphasis, on it. There’s no need to stress out if you don’t know the word’s history, though; its journey into the English language was very straightforward. It comes from Latin accentus, meaning “accent” (which itself comes in part from cantus, meaning “song”), and since the early 18th century, its meanings haven’t changed much. The word was initially used as a synonym of the verb accent to mean “to pronounce with greater stress or force,” which is a small leap from today’s meaning of “to make something more noticeable; to emphasize.” One excellent way to remember not only how to pronounce accentuate but also its etymological connection to song is the classic (and helpfully titled) tune “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,” by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, which has been performed by such luminaries as Dinah Washington, Sam Cooke, and Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters.
Synonyms
Examples of accentuate in a Sentence
Julia Teti, WWD, 24 Jan. 2025
Over the last six seasons, general manager Koby Altman has built a roster around him that accentuates his skills and covers up his weaknesses.
—Jon Krawczynski, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025
The pandemic accelerated and accentuated our divisions, and people focused their anger and frustration on public health measures, including vaccines, and on the messengers.
—Madhukar Pai, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
Foster, looking up at the tower from Forty-seventh Street, hinted at the complexity of discussions about which exact shade would be used for the cladding that accentuates the supporting columns and the diagonal bracing.
—Ian Parker, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Accentuate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accentuate. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.
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accentuate
verb
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