HEIGHTENS Synonyms: 89 Similar and Opposite Words

heightens

verb

present tense third-person singular of heighten

as in intensifies

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

as in lifts

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

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of heightens Local firm Studio Munge’s design is restrained but exacting, which heightens the impact of the details. —

Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026 Mikhail Metzel | Via Reuters Russia has offered to help China with any potential energy shortfall, as the war in the Middle East heightens geopolitical divisions and threatens global commodity supplies. —

Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 15 Apr. 2026 Rather than rely on items that are more neutral, a kaleidoscopic palette heightens the personality of your space. —

Rachel Davies, Architectural Digest, 15 Apr. 2026 The effect heightens the romanticism of characters who are no longer lost to us in translation. —

Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2026 Cancer Neptune in Cancer heightens emotional sensitivity and nostalgia for home, family and heritage. —

Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 10 Apr. 2026 Warrior Mars in your sign fires up thoughts about your identity — and simultaneously heightens your initiative. —

Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 9 Apr. 2026 This uncertainty heightens individual anxiety and that in turn manifests in a diminished personal sense of well being. —

Dr. Howard A. Selinger, Hartford Courant, 31 Mar. 2026 Sometimes these shifts are small, noticeable only to the character experiencing them, as when an impending hurricane heightens the narrator’s receptivity to the minor mysteries of humble objects. —

Hannah Gold, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for heightens

Verb

Its residents will also be awaiting further attacks, as Ukraine intensifies its campaign to disrupt the Russian oil industry and deprive the Kremlin of crucial funding for its war machine.

— Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 1 May 2026
Mexico arrests cartel leader amid widening gang crackdown Mexico’s military arrested a top cartel leader in a raid involving more than 500 troops, the country’s security minister announced on Monday, as President Claudia Sheinbaum intensifies her gang crackdown.

— Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 30 Apr. 2026