Deaccentuates

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To reduce the emphasis or stress on particular syllables or sounds in speech or writing ; to diminish the prominence or intensity of elements within a design or presentation ; to lessen the visual or auditory impact of features in an object or environment
2. To make less prominent or stressed the articulation of sounds or symbols in language ; to tone down or soften the significance of aspects in a message or image ; to decrease the emphasis placed on certain parts to achieve balance or subtlety
3. To lower the strength or force of accents or stresses in phonetics or text ; to downplay or moderate the importance of highlights in communication or aesthetics ; to reduce conspicuousness of features to create a more uniform or restrained effect

Etymology: The Greek grammarians who first described stress and pitch in speech called it "prosōidia," meaning "song added to speech." Its Latin translation, "accentus," kept the same musical picture, built from "ad-" and "cantus," a tone laid over ordinary words. English "accent" descends from that Latin word through French, and it first referred to pitch and stress before it came to mean a way of speaking. Deaccentuate is a transparent formation from accentuate. The Latin prefix "de-," meaning "down" or "away from," reverses the action, so the verb removes the emphasis that accentuate adds. The same logic covers its wider senses, such as making a design element less prominent.

Synonyms: softens, reduces stress, tones down

Antonyms: emphasizes, accentuates, stresses, highlights