Accent - Definition

n 1: distinctive manner of oral expression; "he couldn't
suppress his contemptuous accent"; "she had a very clear
speech pattern" [syn: accent, speech pattern]
2: special importance or significance; "the red light gave the
central figure increased emphasis"; "the room was decorated
in shades of grey with distinctive red accents" [syn:
emphasis, accent]
3: the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific
group of people; "the immigrants spoke an odd dialect of
English"; "he has a strong German accent"; "it has been said
that a language is a dialect with an army and navy" [syn:
dialect, idiom, accent]
4: the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note
(especially with regard to stress or pitch); "he put the
stress on the wrong syllable" [syn: stress, emphasis,
accent]
5: a diacritical mark used to indicate stress or placed above a
vowel to indicate a special pronunciation [syn: accent,
accent mark]
v 1: to stress, single out as important; "Dr. Jones emphasizes
exercise in addition to a change in diet" [syn: stress,
emphasize, emphasise, punctuate, accent,
accentuate]
2: put stress on; utter with an accent; "In Farsi, you accent
the last syllable of each word" [syn: stress, accent,
accentuate]