All words

accentuate

Meaning

To give prominence or distinction to something; to make something more noticeable.

Examples by difficulty

Basic: Simple, everyday vocabulary — the easiest to read.

She tried to hide her nervousness, but her shaky voice only served to accentuate her fear. The way she kept wringing her hands made her discomfort even more clear to everyone watching.

She practiced her violin piece, her bow strokes deliberate. The quiet room amplified each note. When she hit the high, soaring part, the intensity of the sound seemed to make the polished wood of the instrument gleam. It was a feeling that could only accentuate the raw beauty of the melody.

The chipped ceramic pot held a single, vibrant crimson bloom. Its bright color seemed to accentuate the dull gray of the windowsill, making the flower stand out bold and defiant against the drabness.

The clown's giant red nose, perched precariously on his face, served to accentuate his already silly grin. Every honk and wiggly ear added to the spectacle, making sure no one missed his delightful, if slightly alarming, clown-ness. He just wanted everyone to notice his amazing act.

My pet dust bunny, Bartholomew, has a habit of hiding shiny buttons. To accentuate Bartholomew's stealthy button acquisition, I’ve started leaving trails of glitter. It’s a terrible plan, but watching Bartholomew zoom through sparkles to grab a rogue sequin is the funniest thing ever.

Normal: Standard, everyday language.

Her bright smile always managed to accentuate her excited energy, making it impossible to ignore her joy when she talked about her dreams.

The meticulous arrangement of the scavenged circuit boards, their soldered joints gleaming under the harsh workshop light, served to accentuate the intricate wiring. Each precisely placed component made the delicate electrical pathways more noticeable, a testament to hours spent hunched over the workbench.

The artist’s intense focus, her brow furrowed as she painstakingly applied the final flecks of iridescent paint, served to accentuate the delicate shimmer already present. Each tiny dot seemed to magnify the otherworldly glow, making the bizarre, phosphorescent fungi she was painting even more striking under the dim workshop lights.

Brenda's new, neon-pink, sequined jumpsuit did nothing to accentuate her already impressive physique; in fact, it made her look like a disco ball had exploded. Her cat, Bartholomew, just blinked, seemingly unimpressed by the added sparkle, preferring instead to accentuate his nap.

Brenda’s interpretive dance routine, featuring a lone, wiggling hot dog on a string, was designed to accentuate the existential dread of a processed meat product. The strategically placed, shimmering glitter further served to accentuate the forlorn sausage's solo journey across the stage, captivating the audience with its poignant, protein-based struggle.

Advanced: Richer vocabulary that stretches an upper-level reader.

The worn, faded photograph was the only reminder of her childhood home. She traced the chipped paint on the porch swing, trying to remember the laughter that used to echo there. The silence now seemed to accentuate the loneliness she felt, making the absence of those memories all the more sharp.

The cracked obsidian shard, unearthed from the ash beds, seemed to glow with an inner fire. Its rough edges, stark against the smooth, polished surface of the excavation table, only served to accentuate its unusual properties, drawing every eye and demanding closer inspection.

The stark white of the salt flats, stretching to a horizon bleached by the sun, served to accentuate the solitary figure of the wind-scoured juniper. Its twisted limbs, reaching like desperate hands, became the only feature in the vast expanse, its struggle for survival suddenly obvious.

The flamboyant peacock strutted, his iridescent plumage designed to accentuate his already considerable ego. He fanned his tail feathers, a shimmering spectacle intended to make his magnificent glory undeniably noticeable to every creature in the jungle. A passing giraffe, unimpressed, simply chewed its cud.

Sir Reginald's flamboyant feather boa, a magnificent, shimmering thing, was employed to accentuate his already considerable pronouncements on the proper way to peel a kumquat. Each dramatic flourish drew the eye, making certain his passionate, if peculiar, culinary critiques were undeniably the most noticeable feature of the entire garden party.

Challenging: Rare, high-register vocabulary for serious word lovers.

His quiet, heartfelt plea, delivered with a tremor in his voice, served to accentuate the profound despair he felt. The raw emotion in his tone made his desperation undeniably clear, drawing every ear in the somber chamber.

The meticulous arrangement of chipped obsidian shards, each precisely angled, served to accentuate the stark, unsettling geometry of the ritualistic etching. The faint, crimson luminescence seemed to leach from the very air, further emphasizing the profound stillness that had descended.

The stark contrast of the crimson stain on the pristine alabaster of the sarcophagus served to accentuate the sheer violence of the ancient ritual. Each jagged tear in the linen wrappings, a silent testament to fervent, possibly desperate, rites, became all the more harrowing under the flickering torchlight, drawing an anxious gaze to the grim history etched into the unyielding stone.

Bartholomew's ostentatious cravat, a veritable kaleidoscope of vermilion and violet, did little to accentuate his intellectual prowess; rather, it served to accentuate the sheer audacity of his sartorial choices, making his already considerable presence ludicrously conspicuous.

The flamboyant marabou stork, sporting an immaculately tailored waistcoat of iridescent beetle wings, decided to accentuate its already prodigious proboscis with a strategically placed hibiscus bloom. This audacious flourish, it hoped, would distinguish its arrival at the annual Nocturnal Gastronomy Symposium, making its predilection for fermented grubs undeniably more noticeable to the assembled connoisseurs of phosphorescent fungi.

Difficulty

Normal — Everyday words worth reinforcing.

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