accent
prominence of a syllable in terms of differential loudness, or of pitch, or length, or of a combination of these.
degree of prominence of a syllable within a word and sometimes of a word within a phrase: primary accent; secondary accent.
a mark indicating stress (as (ˈ, ˌ), or (′, ″)), vowel quality (as French grave `, acute ´, circumflex ^ ), form (as French la “the” versus là “there”), or pitch.
any similar mark.
Prosody.
regularly recurring stress.
a mark indicating stress or some other distinction in pronunciation or value.
a musical tone or pattern of pitch inherent in a particular language either as a feature essential to the identification of a vowel or a syllable or to the general acoustic character of the language.: Compare tone (def. 7).
Often accents.
the unique speech patterns, inflections, choice of words, etc., that identify a particular individual: We recognized his accents immediately. She corrected me in her usual mild accents.
the distinctive style or tone characteristic of an author, composer, etc.: the unmistakably Brahmsian accents of the sonata; She recognized the familiar accents of Robert Frost in the poem.
a mode of pronunciation, as pitch or tone, emphasis pattern, or intonation, characteristic of or peculiar to the speech of a particular person, group, or locality: French accent; Southern accent.: Compare tone (def. 5).
such a mode of pronunciation recognized as being of foreign origin: He still speaks with an accent.
Music.
a stress or emphasis given to certain notes.
a mark noting this.
stress or emphasis regularly recurring as a feature of rhythm.
Mathematics.
a symbol used to distinguish similar quantities that differ in value, as in b′, b″, b‴ (called b prime, b second or b double prime, b third or b triple prime, respectively).
a symbol used to indicate a particular unit of measure, as feet (′) or inches (″), minutes (′) or seconds (″).
a symbol used to indicate the order of a derivative of a function in calculus, as f′ (called f prime) is the first derivative of a function f.
words or tones expressive of some emotion.
accents, words; language; speech: He spoke in accents bold.
distinctive character or tone: an accent of whining complaint.
special attention, stress, or emphasis: an accent on accuracy.
a detail that is emphasized by contrasting with its surroundings: a room decorated in navy blue with two red vases as accents.
a distinctive but subordinate pattern, motif, color, flavor, or the like: The salad dressing had an accent of garlic.
to pronounce with prominence (a syllable within a word or a word within a phrase): to accent the first syllable of “into”; to accent the first word of “White House.”: Compare stress (def. 12).
to mark with a written accent or accents.
to give emphasis or prominence to; accentuate.
Origin of accent
1Other words from accent
- ac·cent·less, adjective
- ac·cen·tu·a·ble [ak-sen-choo-uh-buhl], /ækˈsɛn tʃu ə bəl/, adjective
- non·ac·cent, noun
- non·ac·cent·ed, adjective
- non·ac·cent·ing, adjective
- re·ac·cent, verb (used with object)
- well-ac·cent·ed, adjective
Words that may be confused with accent
- 1. accent , stress
- 2. accent , accentuate, assent
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use accent in a sentence
A worn couch sitting squarely before a wood veneer wall, accented by the head of a deer.
#Setinthestreet: Your Street Corner Is Their Art Project | James Joiner | December 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe squints slightly, has a squared jaw, and speaks in British-accented English, the product of a boarding school education.
A Belgian Prince, Gorillas, Guerrillas & the Future of the Congo | Nina Strochlic | November 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnne Marie was in her element, jabbering away in heavily accented Liberian English, the center of attention.
Why, they might even switch to amiable, Texas-accented, 77-year-old Schieffer, the television equivalent of comfort food.
Jon Stewart and 'Meet The Press' Would Have Been One Unhappy Marriage | Lloyd Grove | October 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOf most interest are the English-speaking narrator and a masked American-accented combatant featured in the film.
A clear instance of a line beginning with an accented syllable is seen in l. 23—'Slp', and ths melncol.'
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems | Geoffrey ChaucerPouerte can be pronounced povrt'; accented on the second syllable, and with the final e elided.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems | Geoffrey ChaucerThe metrical accent or ictus was marked in ancient notation by points placed over the accented syllable.
The Modes of Ancient Greek Music | David Binning MonroThere are numerous spelling inconsistencies in proper and place names as well as within accented characters.
Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 1846 | James RichardsonIn “Hiawatha” the accented syllable comes first, and the unaccented follows it.
English: Composition and Literature | W. F. (William Franklin) Webster
British Dictionary definitions for accent
the characteristic mode of pronunciation of a person or group, esp one that betrays social or geographical origin
the relative prominence of a spoken or sung syllable, esp with regard to stress or pitch: Compare pitch 1 (def. 28), stress (def. 3)
a mark (such as ˈ, ˌ, ´ or `) used in writing to indicate the stress or prominence of a syllable. Such a mark may also be used to indicate that a written syllable is to be pronounced, esp when such pronunciation is not usual, as in turnèd
any of various marks or symbols conventionally used in writing certain languages to indicate the quality of a vowel, or for some other purpose, such as differentiation of homographs: See acute (def. 10), grave 2 (def. 5), circumflex
(in some languages, such as Chinese) any of the tones that have phonemic value in distinguishing one word from another: Compare tone (def. 7)
rhythmic stress in verse or prose
music
stress placed on certain notes in a piece of music, indicated by a symbol printed over the note concerned
the rhythmic pulse of a piece or passage, usually represented as the stress on the first beat of each bar: See also syncopation
maths either of two superscript symbols indicating a specific unit, such as feet (′), inches (″), minutes of arc (′), or seconds of arc (″)
a distinctive characteristic of anything, such as taste, pattern, style, etc
particular attention or emphasis: an accent on learning
a strongly contrasting detail: a blue rug with red accents
to mark with an accent in writing, speech, music, etc
to lay particular emphasis or stress on
Origin of accent
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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