tr.v., -at·ed, -at·ing, -ates.
- To stress or emphasize; intensify: "enacted sweeping land-reform plans that accentuated the already chaotic pattern of landholding" (James Fallows).
- To pronounce with a stress or accent.
- To mark with an accent.
[Medieval Latin accentuāre, accentuāt-, from Latin accentus, accent. See accent.]
accentuation ac·cen'tu·a'tion n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
