accentuate

Etymology

* First attested in 1731. * (emphasize): First attested in 1865. * From Medieval Latin accentuātus, past participle of accentuāre, from Latin accentus.

verb

1. (transitive) To pronounce with an accent or vocal stress.
2. (transitive) To bring out distinctly; to make more noticeable or prominent; to emphasize.
   our danger and insolation only accentuated the incompatibility 1898, H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds/Book 2/Chapter 3
   These were business hours, and a feeling of loneliness crept over him, perhaps germinated by his sight of the illustrated papers, and accentuated by an attempted perusal of them. 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 5, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad
   Attempts by Waterloo signalmen to clear the points by power operation eventually exhausted point motor batteries, which are fed by trickle chargers, and a blown fuse accentuated the problem; thus, even when the points had been cleared of ice, no power was available to operate them until the batteries were sufficiently recharged. 1962 March, “The New Year Freeze-up on British Railways”, in Modern Railways, page 159
3. (transitive) To mark with a written accent.