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accent

[ noun ak-sent; verb ak-sent, ak-sent ]

/ noun ˈæk sɛnt; verb ˈæk sɛnt, ækˈsɛnt /

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See synonyms for: accent / accented on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

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.

VIDEO FOR ACCENT

What Is Accent Prestige Theory?

No accent is more correct than another. And, here’s the irony. None of us talk the same way all the time. So why do we think some accents sound better than others?

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QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of accent

1520–30; <Latin accentus speaking tone, equivalent to ac-ac- + -centus, combining form of cantus song (see canto); translation of Greek prosōidíaprosody

OTHER WORDS FROM accent

ac·cent·less, adjectiveac·cen·tu·a·ble

[ak-sen-choo-uh-buhl], /ækˈsɛn tʃu ə bəl/, adjectivenon·ac·cent, nounnon·ac·cent·ed, adjective

non·ac·cent·ing, adjectivere·ac·cent, verb (used with object)well-ac·cent·ed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH accent

1. accent , stress2. accent , accentuate, assent

Words nearby accent

accelerator board, accelerator mass spectrometry, accelerogram, accelerograph, accelerometer, accent, accent mark, accentor, accentual, accentuate, accentuated

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use accent in a sentence

It really felt like doing an accent even though we’re both Australian.
Inside ‘I Am Woman’: A new biopic tells the story of Helen Reddy and her famous song|radmarya|September 10, 2020|Fortune
These accents tend to be the standard form of the language, so, these are usually the pronunciations you hear from mass media, government, business, education … from the dominant social group.
What Is Accent Prestige Theory?|Rachel Leonard|July 31, 2020|Everything After Z
Its founder, Nosipho Maketo-van den Bragt, knew first-hand that there were women in high-flying corporate jobs who needed meticulously-tailored outfits that had colors and accents reflecting a beautiful heritage.
South African women are forging new fashion frontiers by embracing their heritage|Norma Young|July 9, 2020|Quartz
None of these companies have a definition of what “neutral accents” mean.
Is It the Way I Talk? Hiring discrimination based on an accent is illegal.|Truthbetold|January 25, 2020|TruthBeTold.news

I was in high school when I realized that I spoke with an accent.
Is It the Way I Talk? Hiring discrimination based on an accent is illegal.|Truthbetold|January 25, 2020|TruthBeTold.news
But the people from Valley Stream had such a thick New York accent that was all around me.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I struck up a conversation with a man in his fifties or sixties who had a Brooklyn accent.
I Ate Potato Pancakes Til I Plotzed|Emily Shire|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He seems miffed that Liv Ullmann would go off and do a musical when he was thinking of putting her, accent and all, in his movie.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Of course, in her Neverland they bleach your teeth so white they glow and Madonna coaches you on your convincing British accent.
‘Peter Pan Live!’ Review: No Amount of Clapping Brings It to Life|Kevin Fallon|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On it a young beardless man speaks Chechen and Arabic with a soft accent.
Fierce Fighting in Grozny Raises Specter of ISIS Influence in Russia|Anna Nemtsova|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And all over the world each language would be taught with the same accent and quantities and idioms—a very desirable thing indeed.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
The baron's pallid face looked more bloodless, his accent was fiercer, and his countenance more ruffianly as he uttered all this.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
As Ted suspected, the stranger was of Northern birth, which showed itself in his accent and cold, proud bearing.
The Cromptons|Mary J. Holmes
Near me, sitting at a little table, were two gentlemen—unmistakably Scotch, as their accent proclaimed.
Friend Mac Donald|Max O'Rell
Let your articulation be easy, clear, correct in accent, and suited in tone and emphasis to your discourse.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness|Florence Hartley

British Dictionary definitions for accent

accent

noun (ˈæksənt)

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 pitchCompare 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 homographsSee 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 anotherCompare 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 barSee 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 emphasisan accent on learning

a strongly contrasting detaila blue rug with red accents

verb (ækˈsɛnt) (tr)

to mark with an accent in writing, speech, music, etc

to lay particular emphasis or stress on

Word Origin for accent

C14: via Old French from Latin accentus, from ad- to + cantus chant, song. The Latin is a rendering of Greek prosōidia a song sung to music, the tone of a syllable

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012