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
Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 2 June 2025
This style’s larger heel Air unit appears particularly accentuated by the bright Fireberry hue, and the shape of the toe has also been tweaked to resemble the look and feel of the original 1995 sneaker.
—Riley Jones, Footwear News, 26 May 2025
The mishmash of those layers is accentuated by you, the player, having controlled Joel as a character this whole time and thus having partial ownership over his heinous/heroic acts.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 26 May 2025
As the evening progressed, that imagery became accentuated.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 25 May 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 10 Jun. 2025.
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accentuate
verb
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