accentuate

/æk'sentjueit/
Học thuật
Thân thiện
accentuate

She wore a bright scarf to accentuate her eyes.

Definition
  1. Verb:
    • To emphasize or make more noticeable: To give prominence or increased importance to a particular feature, idea, or part of something.
    • To pronounce or mark with an accent: To stress a syllable or word in speech, or to place a written accent mark on it.
Usage and Examples
  • To emphasize a feature or quality:
    • The dark eyeliner helped to accentuate her blue eyes.
    • The architect used lighting to accentuate the building's unique curves.
  • To stress in pronunciation:
    • In English, we accentuate the first syllable of the word "present" when it is a noun.
    • Be sure to accentuate the correct syllable to avoid confusion.
Advanced Usage
  • "accentuate the positive": To focus on or highlight the good aspects of a situation.
    • In difficult times, it's important to accentuate the positive and look for solutions.
  • Used to describe the effect of making contrasts more apparent.
    • The economic policies served to accentuate the divide between the rich and the poor.
Variants and Related Words
  • Accentuation (noun): The act of accentuating; emphasis or stress.
    • The careful accentuation of key points made her speech very effective.
  • Accent (noun/verb): As a noun, a distinctive mode of pronunciation; a mark indicating stress. As a verb, to emphasize.
    • She spoke with a French accent. (noun)
    • He accented the need for immediate action. (verb)
Synonyms
  • Emphasize: To give special importance or prominence to.
  • Highlight: To draw attention to or emphasize.
  • Stress: To emphasize or give importance to.
  • Underscore: To emphasize or stress.
Antonyms
  • Minimize: To reduce to the smallest possible amount or degree; to downplay.
  • Understate: To describe or represent something as less important than it is.
  • Downplay: To make something appear less important than it really is.
Related Phrases and Concepts
  • To bring to the fore: To move something into a prominent position.
  • To throw into relief: To make something very noticeable by contrast.
  • While not a phrasal verb, the verb is often used with objects like "differences," "features," "importance," or "need" to indicate what is being emphasized.
accentuate

She wore a bright scarf to accentuate her eyes.

Verb
  1. put stress on; utter with an accent
    • In Farsi, you accent the last syllable of each word
  2. to stress, single out as important
    • Dr. Jones emphasizes exercise in addition to a change in diet

Từ đồng nghĩa