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accent - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'accent' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Accent [ n.]
- A superior force of voice or of articulative effort upon some particular syllable of a word or a phrase, distinguishing it from the others.
- A mark or character used in writing, and serving to regulate the pronunciation; esp.: (a) a mark to indicate the nature and place of the spoken accent; (b) a mark to indicate the quality of sound of the vowel marked; as, the French accents.
- Modulation of the voice in speaking; manner of speaking or pronouncing; peculiar or characteristic modification of the voice; tone; as, a foreign accent; a French or a German accent.
- A word; a significant tone
- expressions in general; speech.
- Stress laid on certain syllables of a verse.
- A regularly recurring stress upon the tone to mark the beginning, and, more feebly, the third part of the measure.
- A special emphasis of a tone, even in the weaker part of the measure.
- The rhythmical accent, which marks phrases and sections of a period.
- The expressive emphasis and shading of a passage.
- A mark placed at the right hand of a letter, and a little above it, to distinguish magnitudes of a similar kind expressed by the same letter, but differing in value, as y', y''.
- A mark at the right hand of a number, indicating minutes of a degree, seconds, etc.; as, 12'27'', i. e., twelve minutes twenty seven seconds.
- A mark used to denote feet and inches; as, 6' 10'' is six feet ten inches.
2 . Accent [ v. t.]
- To express the accent of (either by the voice or by a mark); to utter or to mark with accent.
- To mark emphatically; to emphasize.

Meaning of 'accent' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . accent [ n]
Meaning (1):
- distinctive manner of oral expression
Example in sentence:
  • he couldn't suppress his contemptuous accent;
  • she had a very clear speech pattern
Meaning (2):
- the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people
Example in sentence:
  • he has a strong German accent;
  • it has been said that a language is a dialect with an army and navy;
  • the immigrants spoke an odd dialect of English
Meaning (3):
- the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch)
Example in sentence:
  • he put the stress on the wrong syllable
Meaning (4):
- special importance or significance
Example in sentence:
  • the red light gave the central figure increased emphasis;
  • the room was decorated in shades of grey with distinctive red accents
5 . accent [ v]
Meaning (5):
- to stress, single out as important
Example in sentence:
  • Dr. Jones emphasizes exercise in addition to a change in diet
Meaning (6):
- put stress on; utter with an accent
Example in sentence:
  • In Farsi, you accent the last syllable of each word

Nearby Words:

accadian accede acceded accedence acceder acceding accelerando accelerate accelerated accelerating

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