1
as in intensifying
to make markedly greater in measure or degree
several controversial measures have heightened parental awareness of the impact of school policy decisions
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lifting
to move from a lower to a higher place or position
heightened the hem on her skirt just a couple of inches
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in strengthening
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of heightening
Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Oct. 2025
Lisa Stardust, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
Although regulation is heightening visibility needs, roughly a quarter (23 percent) of executives said regulatory uncertainty is holding them back.
—Sarah Jones, Sourcing Journal, 7 Oct. 2025
Both sides are signaling little willingness to compromise, heightening the risk of military miscalculation.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025
January’s energy is heightening your creative side and invites a playful, loving energy into your interactions.
—Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Oct. 2025
Composer Deantoni Parks’s score sustains and amplifies the tension, heightening the creeping pretense of water rushing forward and the punishing breathlessness of struggling back upstream.
—Anne Reeve, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2025
Today, Zendaya seemingly wore a Bumpit—the very hair-heightening apparatus made famous by the Jersey Shore star—to the Louis Vuitton Womenswear Spring/Summer 2026 show.
—Marci Robin, Allure, 30 Sep. 2025
Our ability to love is expanding and heightening.
—Lisa Stardust, Refinery29, 17 Sep. 2025
The Hill’s Niall Stanage writes that the shocking killing of Kirk is heightening fears over the nation’s path.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
Just a day later, Neptune retrograde shifts into Pisces, heightening intuition and deepening emotional awareness with entirely new depth.
—Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Oct. 2025
Noun
Her personality evolves on her 13th birthday, heightening her witchy attributes.
—Lisa Stardust, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
Although regulation is heightening visibility needs, roughly a quarter (23 percent) of executives said regulatory uncertainty is holding them back.
—Sarah Jones, Sourcing Journal, 7 Oct. 2025
Both sides are signaling little willingness to compromise, heightening the risk of military miscalculation.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025
January’s energy is heightening your creative side and invites a playful, loving energy into your interactions.
—Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Oct. 2025
Composer Deantoni Parks’s score sustains and amplifies the tension, heightening the creeping pretense of water rushing forward and the punishing breathlessness of struggling back upstream.
—Anne Reeve, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2025
Today, Zendaya seemingly wore a Bumpit—the very hair-heightening apparatus made famous by the Jersey Shore star—to the Louis Vuitton Womenswear Spring/Summer 2026 show.
—Marci Robin, Allure, 30 Sep. 2025
Our ability to love is expanding and heightening.
—Lisa Stardust, Refinery29, 17 Sep. 2025
The Hill’s Niall Stanage writes that the shocking killing of Kirk is heightening fears over the nation’s path.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 11 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heightening
Verb
-
The dispute highlights the deep mistrust and volatility defining relations between the two governments, with both sides reinforcing military deployments and intensifying rhetoric, raising fears of direct confrontation.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Warmer air, for example, boosts evaporation, which leads to more moisture entrained in the atmosphere, intensifying rainfalls, while warmer oceans provide an energy source for more violent hurricanes.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The former Blaugrana standout scored twice in the 2022 final as well as netting his penalty in the shootout on his way to lifting soccer’s most prestigious trophy.—
Frank Nunns O'Connell,
CNN Money,
28 Oct. 2025
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Later, the humanoids got up in a human-like manner, first lifting their legs and using their hip joint to get up and come back to their original standing position.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
This explosive strengthening is happening more often as the world warms due to fossil fuel pollution.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
24 Oct. 2025
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Its soothing, strengthening, and hydrating properties would surely do my complexion well in the dry, tepid desert, but these benefits certainly ring true in any climate!—
Deanna Pai,
Vogue,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Amazon is the latest big company to announce layoffs, deepening concerns ahead of the Fed’s meeting this week that the labor market is weakening.—
Rohan Goswami,
semafor.com,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Their audiences vary dramatically, but there is unquestionably a gap deepening in real time.—
David Zucker,
Deadline,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Still, the project adds another exclusive tier to a venue already marked by VIP enclaves, raising questions about how much of COTA’s most distinctive real estate will remain truly accessible — and for how long.—
Patrick Iversen,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
The key to raising emotionally resilient kids is the ability to repair.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
For some animals, increases in carbs could cause acidosis and be fatal.—
Craig Shoup,
Nashville Tennessean,
27 Oct. 2025
-
Managing this amount of data is extremely difficult and requires massive amounts of computing power, but the information is becoming more accurate every day as the number of sightings increase.—
Ernie Cowan,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
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These vision-enhancing tools were only available at great cost, and thus only the upper echelon of society’s members was able to access them.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
29 Oct. 2025
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Taiwan, too, should keep enhancing its civil and military defenses while restraining its assertions of sovereignty in cross-strait affairs.—
STEPHEN WERTHEIM,
Foreign Affairs,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As a member of the Phoenix Union High School District Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council, Yeraldin plays a role in elevating student voices, advocating for improvements in academics, extracurriculars and campus life.—
Erick Trevino,
AZCentral.com,
27 Oct. 2025
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The danger intensifies when storm surge coincides with high tide, rapidly elevating water levels and increasing the risk of widespread flooding.—
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heightening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heightening. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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