heighten

[ hahyt-n ]

/ ˈhaɪt n /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR heighten ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to increase the height of; make higher.

to increase the degree or amount of; augment: Cézanne's death heightened the value of his paintings.

to strengthen, deepen, or intensify: to heighten the plot of a story; to heighten one's awareness or appreciation; to heighten one's suffering.

to bring out the important features of, as in a drawing: to heighten a picture with Chinese white.

verb (used without object)

to become higher.

to increase: The tension heightened as the enemy forces advanced.

to brighten or become more intense.

Nearby words

Origin of heighten

First recorded in 1515–25; height + -en¹

Related formsheight·en·er, nounun·height·ened, adjective

Synonym study

1. See elevate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for heightened

For Kirke it was being paid to pretend to play the oboe that heightened her affair with classical music.
‘Mozart in the Jungle’: Inside Amazon’s Brave New World of Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music|Kevin Fallon|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She stands, dressed in a tutu, on one pointed foot in a heightened fifth position.
Revealing The Unseen Picasso|Justin Jones|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is an extreme, heightened set-up, I say: the whole hostage-taking, life-imperiled prolog.
Sex, Blood, and Screaming: Blackout’s Dark Frights|Tim Teeman|October 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Mossad high command must surely be convening emergency meetings in an atmosphere of tension and heightened alertness.
Mossad’s Greatest Female Assassin: An Excerpt From ‘Sylvia Rafael’|Ram Oren,   Moti Kfir|September 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The memo, citing a heightened security threat, said that the attacks were scheduled for July 25, 2014.
Obama’s ‘Yemen Model’ for the War on ISIS Is a Wreck|Shuaib Almosawa|September 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mizzi retired with a heightened color, and he sat down with satisfaction to the cricket reports and deviled kidneys.
The Gay Adventure|Richard Bird
Regrettable as it may seem, it is with heightened spirits that he continues his stroll.
The Circus, and Other Essays and Fugitive Pieces|Joyce Kilmer
The unpopularity of the administration was heightened by its finance.
The Political History of England - Vol. X.|William Hunt
"The orders of Professor Elizabeth Challis," she said, with heightened colour.
The Gay Rebellion|Robert W. Chambers
In this he was unrivalled, and it was heightened by the adjuncts of a voice, face, and manner irresistibly comical.
The Greville Memoirs (Second Part)|Charles C. F. Greville

British Dictionary definitions for heightened

heighten

/ (ˈhaɪtən) /

verb

to make or become high or higher

to make or become more extreme or intense

Derived Formsheightened, adjectiveheightener, noun

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

Word Origin and History for heightened

heighten

mid-15c., heightenen "to exalt, to honor or raise to high position," from height + -en (1). Related: Heightened; heightening.

heighten

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

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Nearby words

Origin of heighten

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for heightened

British Dictionary definitions for heightened

heighten

verb

Word Origin and History for heightened

heighten