heighten
Americanverb (used with object)
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to increase the degree or amount of; augment.
Cézanne's death heightened the value of his paintings.
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to strengthen, deepen, or intensify.
to heighten the plot of a story; to heighten one's awareness or appreciation; to heighten one's suffering.
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to bring out the important features of, as in a drawing.
to heighten a picture with Chinese white.
verb (used without object)
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to become higher.
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to increase.
The tension heightened as the enemy forces advanced.
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to brighten or become more intense.
verb
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to make or become high or higher
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to make or become more extreme or intense
Synonym Usage
See elevate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have heightenedperfect
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has heightenedperfect 3rd person singular
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has been heighteningperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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heighteningparticiple
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are heighteningprogressive
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am heighteningprogressive 1st person singular
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is heighteningprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been heighteningperfect progressive
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heightenssingular 3rd person
Past
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had heightenedperfect
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had been heighteningperfect progressive
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was heighteningprogressive singular
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were heighteningprogressive plural
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heightenedparticiple
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heightenedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of heighten
Explanation
When you heighten something, you increase it or make it more intense. If you want to heighten awareness about homelessness, you might write an article for your local newspaper. Extreme weather can act to heighten people's concern about climate change, and publicity for a good cause can heighten awareness of the ways college students can volunteer their time. A movie director might heighten the tension in a scene by using scary music and dramatic lighting. In all of these cases, something is intensified or increased. The oldest, fifteenth-century meaning of heighten, however, was "to exalt, honor, or raise to a high position."
Vocabulary lists containing heighten
And Then There Were None
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Part 3 Vocabulary II (Unit 1)
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"Watching New Love as It Sears the Brain," Vocabulary from the article
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Changes in the type of investor buying government bonds may heighten price volatility, the ECB said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026
Fiscal constraint in those circumstances might heighten the risk of a recession.
From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026
He also reminded Chinese students in the US to "heighten their safety awareness" and "handle US law enforcement actions appropriately".
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026
The light on Mag is framed like a melodramatic diva’s spotlight, and the close-ups of Delano’s electric purple lip gloss and severe makeup heighten the sequence’s sense of surrealism.
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026
The Oppenheimer case did more than heighten the conflict between scientists and bureaucracy; it also caused a deep rift within the scientific community that would not be healed for years.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
