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What is "accentuate"

Crossword clues for accentuate

accentuate
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
accentuate
verb
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ In Britain, the choice between state and private schools accentuates the differences between rich and poor.
▪ The director uses music to accentuate the rising dramatic tension.
▪ The separation between the entryway and the living room can be further accentuated by placing a screen near the doorway.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ But the very act of liberals accentuating the positive is what is likely to intrigue political scientists, historians and economists.
▪ Her mouth was full, and a half-moon of light accentuated the lustrous curve of her lower lip.
▪ Roasted Three-Seed Bread makes superior toast because then the roasted flavors are accentuated.
▪ The rejection of the newly mobile toddler may be accentuated if another baby is born at this time.
▪ This will almost always accentuate the rigidity and sometimes is the only manner in which it can be demonstrated.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Accentuate

Accentuate \Ac*cen"tu*ate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Accentuated; p. pr. & vb. n. Accentuating.] [LL. accentuatus, p. p. of accentuare, fr. L. accentus: cf. F. accentuer.]

  1. To pronounce with an accent or with accents.

  2. To bring out distinctly; to make prominent; to emphasize.

    In Bosnia, the struggle between East and West was even more accentuated.
    --London Times.

  3. To mark with the written accent.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
accentuate

1731, from Medieval Latin accentuatus, past participle of accentuare "to accent," from Latin accentus (see accent (n.)). Originally "to pronounce with an accent;" meaning "emphasize" is recorded from 1865.\n\nYou've got to accentuate the positive\n
Eliminate the negative\n
Latch on to the affirmative\n
Don't mess with Mister In-Between\n

["Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive," 1944, music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Johnny Mercer]

\nRelated: Accentuated; accentuating.
Wiktionary
accentuate

vb. 1 (context transitive English) To pronounce with an accent or vocal stress. 2 (context transitive English) To bring out distinctly; to make more noticeable or prominent; to emphasize.

WordNet
accentuate

  1. v. to stress, single out as important; "Dr. Jones emphasizes exercise in addition to a change in diet" [syn: stress, emphasize, emphasise, punctuate, accent]

  2. put stress on; utter with an accent; "In Farsi, you accent the last syllable of each word" [syn: stress, accent]

Usage examples of "accentuate".

The dark coat and the black hat accentuated his pallor, accentuated, too, his beaky nose and the strong jaw.

The Lady Sabina then, choking back her tears, stood straight in the coffle, the posture accentuating the lovely lines of her chained beauty.

He was garbed casually in a white, full-sleeved shirt and long, slender trousers that accentuated the muscular trimness of his hips.

He probably thought he noticed a movement of surprise in me, for he accentuated and italicized these words.

Olive Oyl has no breasts, but Mirabelle does, though the way she carries herself, with her shoulders folded, in clothing that never accentuates her curves, makes her appear flat.

In one hand he held the ugly-looking jemmy he had taken from the burglar, and the new clothes he had donned, ill-fitting and soiled, served to accentuate the ungainliness of his form.

I redid the faces on the lower portions of the walls, accentuating their beastliness, contrasting them with more human faces above, and I had several small technical breakthroughs that helped me create the luminous intensity I wanted for the upper walls.

Each of the five dimensions accentuates a particular aspect of the psychotherapeutic experience.

The pines and firs showed no longer their sempervirent green, but were black amid the white tufted lines on their branches, that still served to accentuate their symmetry.

Caffeine and medications containing theophylline may accentuate the symptoms.

His broad shoulders and narrow waist were accentuated by his understated but exceedingly well-cut ankle-length suit coat and knife-edge dress slacks.

Liquid eyeliner accentuated the exotic slant of her eyes, and crimson lipstick, guaranteed to last eight hours without reapplication, gave her lips a full, pouty look.

Except for white sidelocks, her hair was as black as night and served to accentuate her severe beauty.

The failure to get the package, the fiasco at the autographing session, must all have accentuated the needs he felt.

Of a sudden the decent quiet of King Street, thus far accentuated rather than disturbed by the routine grind of hansoms and four-wheelers, was enlivened by spirited hoofs whose clatter stilled abruptly in front of the auction room.