- 1
When you accentuate something, you make it stand out more. You do not change what it is; you just help people notice it.
When you accentuate something當你 accentuate 某樣東西, you make it stand out more就是讓它更突出. You do not change what it is你不會改變它本身; you just help people notice it只是讓大家更注意到它.
A belt can accentuate a waist. A pause can accentuate a joke. Dark clouds can accentuate a bright house.
A belt腰帶 can accentuate a waist可以讓腰身更明顯. A pause停頓 can accentuate a joke可以讓笑話更有效果. Dark clouds烏雲 can accentuate a bright house可以讓一棟明亮的房子更顯眼.
Teachers also use it for sound: you accentuate a syllable when you say it a little louder or longer than the others.
Teachers also use it for sound老師也會用這個字講聲音: when you say a syllable a little louder or longer than the others當你把某個音節講得比其他音節大聲或長一點, you accentuate it就是在 accentuate 它.
People sometimes reach for this word when they only mean “say it with more feeling,” though actually the core idea is “make it easier to see or hear,” not “make it more important.” It is a step more formal than show or point out, so you meet it in writing, in fashion talk, and in careful speech more than in the playground.
People sometimes reach for this word有些人會用這個字 when they only mean "say it with more feeling"當他們只是想表達「講得更有感情一點」時, though actually不過其實 the core idea is "make it easier to see or hear"核心概念是「讓它更容易被看到或聽到」, not "make it more important"而不是「讓它更重要」. It is a step more formal than show or point out它比 show 或 point out 正式一點, so you meet it in writing, in fashion talk, and in careful speech所以你會在寫作、時尚話題和講究的談話裡碰到它 more than in the playground比較不會在操場上聽到.
組成accent + a verb ending. English borrowed the whole verb in 1731 from Medieval Latin accentuātus (from Latin accentuō). Latin accentus — our word accent — was itself a copy of a Greek word for the “song” in spoken language.
同家族的字
- accentthe older noun and verb this was built on
- accentuationthe noun for the act or result of accentuating
原始詞典資料3 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
accentuateverb/əkˈsɛn.t͡ʃu.eɪt/
- 1
To pronounce with an accent or vocal stress.
- 2
To bring out distinctly; to make more noticeable or prominent; to emphasize.
- our danger and insolation only accentuated the incompatibility
- 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.
- 3
To mark with a written accent.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。