Deaccentuating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Reducing the emphasis or stress placed on a syllable, word, or idea so that it stands out less
2. Playing down the prominence of something by removing or lessening the accent that draws attention to it
3. Lessening the weight or stress given to a part of speech, phrase, or concept within a sentence or argument

Etymology: Latin "accentus" was a translation of the Greek "prosōidia," meaning "song added to speech." The earliest sense of accent was therefore musical pitch, the rise and fall of the voice, rather than the stress or emphasis we associate with it now. The idea of a marked syllable grew out of that tonal sense. "Accentuate" was built on the Medieval Latin "accentuare," and "deaccentuate" adds the English prefix "de-," which usually means reversal or removal, as in "defrost" or "debug." To deaccentuate something is to take its emphasis away. In linguistics, a word that is deaccentuated loses the pitch prominence it would otherwise carry in a sentence.

Synonyms: de-emphasize, downplay, unstress

Antonyms: accentuate, emphasize, stress