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
Damon Wise, Deadline, 24 June 2025
All the United States and Israel can do is weaken the regime and accentuate its vulnerabilities.
—Eric Edelman, Foreign Affairs, 20 June 2025
In a new photo uploaded to her Instagram, Hudson is seen lounging with a fruity drink in hand, accentuating her abs in a vintage '60s two-piece swimsuit.
—Skyler Caruso, People.com, 20 June 2025
That process of Moscow's waning regional clout comes even as state media in Russia accentuated the positives in the current situation, like the rise in the price of its key commodity oil.
—Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 June 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 4 Jul. 2025.
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accentuate
verb
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