1. make more noticeable or prominent:"his jacket unfortunately accentuated his paunch"Similarfocus attention onbring/call/draw attention topoint upunderlineunderscoreaccenthighlightspotlightforegroundfeaturegive prominence tomake more prominentmake more noticeableplay upbring to the foreheightenstressemphasizeput/lay emphasis onOppositemaskdivert attention from
Word Originearly 18th century (in the sense ‘pronounce with accent or stress’): from medieval Latin accentuat- ‘accented’, from the verb accentuare, from Latin accentus ‘tone’ (see accent).
