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.
Examples of accentuate in a Sentence
Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
In a series of photos, the teenager could be seen wearing a pink tank top dress that accentuated her growing bump.
—Hannah Sacks, People.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Her face is pale, and her cheekbones are accentuated by a dash of gray.
—Ella Alexander, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2025
Like the clockwork heart in The Tale of the Skull Tree, Ian Mackinnon said there were certain beats in the story that Tim Burton wanted to accentuate in the stop-motion sequence.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for accentuate
Cite this Entry
“Accentuate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accentuate. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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accentuate
verb
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