French word

accentuer

Pronunciation

IPA/aksɑ̃tɥe/

Meaning

  • verbemphasize

Example

Je veux accentuer ce point.

I want to emphasize this point.

Illustration for accentuer (emphasize)

More examples

Le maquillage peut accentuer certains traits du visage.

Makeup can accentuate certain facial features.

Core concept

A spotlight makes one feature stand out more clearly and gives it greater visual or rhetorical weight.

Common phrases

  • accentuer le contraste

    accentuate the contrast

  • accentuer l'effet

    intensify the effect

Similar words

mettre l'accent sur: To direct focused attention toward a particular point.
souligner: To make something stand out through words or visual emphasis.
insister sur: To convey a point forcefully by repeating it deliberately.
mettre en valeur: To make positive qualities or distinctive features stand out.

Definition in French

Rendre plus net, plus visible ou plus important un élément; mettre l'accent sur quelque chose.

Word origin

French accentuer comes from Latin accentuare, based on accentus, a term for a change in vocal tone that developed into the idea of making something more prominent.

Usage tips

  • Accentuer takes a direct object, as in Je veux accentuer ce point, whereas insister normally takes sur, as in J'insiste sur ce point.

Other meanings

  • intensifyverb
  • accentuateverb

Opposites

Related words

  • accentuationaccentuationnoun

Word lists with this word