accent

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accent^¹

/ˈak.sənt/ Ireland, UK
/-sɛnt/ Ireland, UK
/ˈæk.sɛnt/ Canada, US
/ˈæk.sɛnt/ Australia
/-sənt/ Australia
/ˈɛk.sent/ New Zealand
/-sənt/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -æksɛnt, -æksənt

Where it comes from

Inherited from Middle English accent, from Medieval Latin accentus and Old French accent, acent, both from Latin accentus, past participle of accinō (“sing to, sing along”), from ad- + canō (“to sing”). The word accent had been borrowed into Old English already, but was lost and reborrowed in Middle English. Displaced native Old English swēġ.

noun accents

countable, uncountable A higher-pitched or stronger (louder or longer) articulation of a particular syllable of a word or phrase in order to distinguish it from the others or to emphasize it. In the word "careful", the accent is placed on the first syllable.
Similar: stress
countable, figuratively, uncountable Emphasis or importance in general. At this hotel, the accent is on luxury.
countable, uncountable A mark used in writing, in order to indicate the place of the spoken stress.
countable, uncountable Any mark used in writing over letters, either in order to indicate the place of the spoken stress, or to indicate the nature or quality of the vowel marked, or to distinguish homophones. The name Cézanne is written with an acute accent.
countable, uncountable Modulation of the voice in speaking; the manner of speaking or pronouncing; a peculiar or characteristic modification of the voice, expressing emotion; tone. I know, sir, I am no flatterer: he that beguiled you in a plain accent was a plain knave; which for my part I will not be, though I should win your displeasure to entreat me to 't.
countable, uncountable The distinctive manner of pronouncing a language associated with a particular region, social group, etc., whether of a native speaker or a foreign speaker; the phonetic and phonological aspects of a dialect. a foreign accent
countable, informal, proscribed, sometimes, uncountable A manner of pronunciation suggesting that the speaker is from a different region; a foreign accent. My professor's accent is so thick that it's difficult to understand her lectures.
countable, uncountable A distinctive manner of producing a sign language, such as someone who does not normally use a certain sign language might have when using it. I believe I still retain some of my hearing accent when I use American Sign Language.
countable, uncountable A word; a significant tone or sound. I heard my landlady's accents attuned to nervous civility, mingling with the mellow tones of a deep masculine voice,
countable, plural, plural only, uncountable, usually Expressions in general; speech. Winds! on your wings to Heaven her accents bear, / Such words as Heaven alone is fit to hear.
countable, uncountable Stress laid on certain syllables of a verse.
countable, uncountable A regularly recurring stress upon the tone to mark the beginning, and, more feebly, the third part of the measure.
countable, uncountable A special emphasis of a tone, even in the weaker part of the measure.
countable, uncountable A mark used to represent this special emphasis.
countable, uncountable The rhythmical accent, which marks phrases and sections of a period.
countable, uncountable A prime symbol.
countable, uncountable Emphasis laid on a part of an artistic design or composition; an emphasized detail, in particular a detail in sharp contrast to its surroundings. accent color
countable, uncountable A very small gemstone set into a piece of jewellery.
archaic, countable, uncountable Utterance.

accent^²

/ækˈsɛnt/ UK
/ækˈsɛnt/ US
/ˈæk.sɛnt/ US

Rhymes with -ɛnt, -æksɛnt

Where it comes from

From Middle French accenter, from Old French accenter, from Latin accentō, from accentus.

verb accents · accenting · accented

transitive To express the accent of vocally; to utter with accent.
transitive To mark emphatically; to emphasize; to accentuate; to make prominent.
transitive To mark with written accents.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: accent mark, dialect, accentuate, accentuation, idiom, punctuate, emphasis, emphasize, bring out, stress, set off, speech pattern, pronunciation, highlight, hear, focussed

Translations

Every language

noun orthography: mark to indicate stress

Español	acento gráfico, tilde
日本語	アクセント akusento
中文	尖音符 jiānyīnfú
Português	acento
Français	accent
Deutsch	Akzent, Akzentzeichen
Italiano	accento
Ελληνικά	τόνος tónos
Română	accent
Русский	знак ударе́ния znak udarénija, ударе́ние udarénije
Tiếng Việt	dấu
العربية	عَلَامَة نَبْر
עברית	טַעַם tá'am

noun distinctive pronunciation associated with a region, social group, etc.

Español	acento, accento, dejo, deje, tonillo, cantadito
한국어	억양 eogyang, 말씨 malssi
日本語	なまり namari, 話し振り hanashiburi, アクセント akusento
中文	口音 kǒuyīn, 方音 fāngyīn
हिन्दी	लहज़ा lahzā, लहजा lahjā, स्वरपात svarpāt
Português	sotaque, acento
Français	accent
Deutsch	Akzent
Italiano	accento, cadenza, inflessione, calata
Ελληνικά	προφορά proforá
Română	accent
Русский	акце́нт akcént, произноше́ние proiznošénije, вы́говор výgovor
Tiếng Việt	giọng, tiếng, khẩu âm
العربية	لَهْجَة lahja, لُكْنَة lukna, تَلَفُّظ talaffuẓ, نُطْق nuṭq
עברית	מִבְטָא mivtá

noun music: expressive emphasis of a passage

Español	acento
中文	韻律重音 /韵律重音 yùnlǜ zhòngyīn
Português	acentuação
Français	accent
Italiano	accento
Русский	акце́нт akcént

noun mark to denote feet or inches

Deutsch	Akzent

noun higher-pitched or stronger articulation

Español	acento léxico
한국어	강세 gangse, 억양 eogyang, 악센트 aksenteu
日本語	強音 kyōon, 強調 kyōchō, アクセント akusento, 強勢 kyōsei, 重き omoki
中文	重音 zhòngyīn, 腔調 /腔调 qiāngdiào, 強勢 /强势 qiángshì
हिन्दी	आघात āghāt
Português	acento, tonicidade, ênfase
Français	accent
Deutsch	Betonung
Italiano	accento
Ελληνικά	τόνος tónos, τονισμός tonismós
Română	accent, intonație
Русский	ударе́ние udarénije, акце́нт akcént
Tiếng Việt	trọng âm
العربية	نَبْر nabr, تَأْكِيد taʔkīd, تَرْكِيز tarkīz
עברית	טַעַם tá'am

noun emphasis or importance in general

中文	重點 /重点 zhòngdiǎn
Русский	ударе́ние udarénije, акце́нт akcént
עברית	דָּגֵשׁ dagésh

noun orthography: any diacritical mark

한국어	발음 구별 기호 bareum gubyeol giho, 발음 구별 부호 bareum gubyeol buho
日本語	ダイアクリティカルマーク daiakuritikaru māku, 字上符 jijōfu
中文	附加符號 /附加符号 fùjiā fúhào, 讀音符號 /读音符号 dúyīn fúhào, 變音符號 /变音符号 biànyīn fúhào
हिन्दी	मात्रा mātrā, विशेषक चिह्न viśeṣak cihna
Português	acento diacrítico, acento
Français	signe diacritique, diacritique
Deutsch	diakritisches Zeichen, Diakritikum, Diakritikon
Italiano	segno diacritico
Ελληνικά	διακριτικό σημείο diakritikó simeío
Română	semn diacritic, diacritic
Русский	диакрити́ческий знак diakritíčeskij znak
Tiếng Việt	dấu phụ
العربية	شَكْل šakl, شَكْلَة šakla, عَلَامَة تَشْكِيل
עברית	ניקוד, נִקּוּד nikúd

noun math: mark to distinguish magnitudes of similar kind

Português	linha
Deutsch	Akzent
Italiano	accento
Русский	штрих štrix

noun modulation of the voice in speaking

Español	dejo, deje, dejillo, tonada
中文	語氣 /语气 yǔqì
Italiano	tono, modulazione, enfasi

noun distinctive manner of producing a sign language

中文	手語口音 /手语口音 shǒuyǔ kǒuyīn

noun word, significant tone or sound

中文	詞語 /词语 cíyǔ
Deutsch	Betonung
Italiano	accento

noun expressions, speech

中文	表達 /表达 biǎodá

noun prosody: stress on syllables of a verse

Español	acento
日本語	強調 kyōchō, 強音 kyōon
中文	重音 zhòngyīn, 腔調 /腔调 qiāngdiào
Português	acento
Français	accent
Deutsch	Betonung
Italiano	accento
Русский	ударе́ние udarénije, акце́нт akcént
Tiếng Việt	trọng âm
العربية	نَبْر nabr

noun music: recurring stress on a tone

Español	acento
中文	詩歌重音 /诗歌重音 shīgē zhòngyīn
Português	acento
Français	accent
Deutsch	Betonung
Italiano	accento
Русский	акце́нт akcént

noun music: special emphasis on a tone

中文	樂音重音 /乐音重音 yuèyīn zhòngyīn
Português	acentuação
Français	accent
Deutsch	Betonung
Italiano	accento
Русский	акце́нт akcént

noun music: rhythmical accent

中文	強調音 /强调音
Português	acentuação
Français	accent
Italiano	accento
Русский	акце́нт akcént

noun emphasis laid on a part of an artistic design or composition

Русский	акце́нт akcént

verb to emphasize

Español	acentuar
Português	acentuar
Français	accentuer
Italiano	accentuare
Русский	акценти́ровать akcentírovatʹ, подчёркивать podčórkivatʹ, подчеркну́ть podčerknútʹ

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Cite this

MLA

"accent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/accent. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

accent. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/accent

Chicago

"accent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/accent.

BibTeX

@misc{accent_2026,
  title = {accent},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/accent},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}

accent

AI In plain words

accent¹

Where it comes from

noun accents

accent²

Where it comes from

verb accents · accenting · accented

Thesaurus

Translations

noun orthography: mark to indicate stress

noun distinctive pronunciation associated with a region, social group, etc.

noun music: expressive emphasis of a passage

noun mark to denote feet or inches

noun higher-pitched or stronger articulation

noun emphasis or importance in general

noun orthography: any diacritical mark

noun math: mark to distinguish magnitudes of similar kind

noun modulation of the voice in speaking

noun distinctive manner of producing a sign language

noun word, significant tone or sound

noun expressions, speech

noun prosody: stress on syllables of a verse

noun music: recurring stress on a tone

noun music: special emphasis on a tone

noun music: rhythmical accent

noun emphasis laid on a part of an artistic design or composition

verb to emphasize

accent^¹

accent^²