Deaccentuated

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Having had its stress or emphasis removed so that it is pronounced without prominence in speech
2. Made unaccented, with the prominence or stress once given to a syllable or word taken away
3. Reduced in stress or emphasis, so that a syllable or word no longer stands out when spoken

Etymology: "Accent" began as a musical term. The Latin "accentus" meant a tone sung or spoken with the voice, formed from "ad-" plus "cantus", "song," so an accent was literally a song added to ordinary speech. "Accentuate" comes from Medieval Latin "accentuare", meaning to mark with an accent, built on "accentus." English took the verb to mean emphasising or making something prominent. The prefix "de-" comes from Latin, where it meant "down" or "away" and often reversed or removed an action. Attached to "accentuate," it yields a verb meaning to take that prominence away, so something deaccentuated has been pushed into the background.

Synonyms: unstressed, de-emphasized, downplayed, underplayed

Antonyms: accented, emphasized, stressed, accentuated