accentuate

present singular third person accentuates · participle present accentuating · participle past accentuated · past accentuated

1. transitiveTo pronounce with an accent or vocal stress.
2. transitiveTo bring out distinctly; to make more noticeable or prominent; to emphasize.First known use 1865

   our danger and insolation only accentuated the incompatibility

   1898, H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds/Book 2/Chapter 3

   5 more examples

   These were business hours, and a feeling of loneliness crept over him, perhaps germinated by his sight of the illustrated papers, and accentuated by an attempted perusal of them.

   1913, Robert Barr, chapter 5, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad

   Attempts by Waterloo signalmen to clear the points by power operation eventually exhausted point motor batteries, which are fed by trickle chargers, and a blown fuse accentuated the problem; thus, even when the points had been cleared of ice, no power was available to operate them until the batteries were sufficiently recharged.

   1962 March 28, “The New Year Freeze-up on British Railways”, in Modern Railways, page 159

   Several digital effects are supported by Deck, ranging from a digital equalizer, which lets you accentuate or attenuate certain frequencies, to a stereoizer, which processes a mono- phonic recording to simulate stereo.

   1991, Macworld, volume 8, PC World Communications

   Eating meat does not conform to God's original intention, and resorting to carnivorism merely accentuates an unattractive part of human nature.

   2004, Mark H Bernstein, Without A Tear, University of Illinois, published 2004, page 67

   Soft girl makeup, as the name suggests is a pastel, sweet style that focuses on accentuating natural features with a signature element being blush and faux freckles.

   2022 November 28, Vaishnavi Maloth, “Popular Makeup Aesthetics to Follow”, in Tulip, volume 13, number 5, page 66

3. transitiveTo mark with a written accent.