HEIGHTEN

intensify, compound, heighten, deepen

(verb) make more intense, stronger, or more marked; “The efforts were intensified”; “Her rudeness intensified his dislike for her”; “Pot smokers claim it heightens their awareness”; “This event only deepened my convictions”

enhance, heighten, raise

(verb) increase; “This will enhance your enjoyment”; “heighten the tension”

sharpen, heighten

(verb) make (one’s senses) more acute; “This drug will sharpen your vision”

heighten

(verb) make more extreme; raise in quantity, degree, or intensity; “heightened interest”

heighten, rise

(verb) become more extreme; “The tension heightened”

heighten

(verb) increase the height of; “The athletes kept jumping over the steadily heightened bars”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

heighten (third-person singular simple present heightens, present participle heightening, simple past and past participle heightened)

To make high; to raise higher; to elevate.

To advance, increase, augment, make larger, more intense, stronger etc.

Source: Wiktionary


Height"en (hit"'n), v. t. [Written also highten.] [imp. & p. p. Heightened; p. pr. & vb. n. Heightening.]

1. To make high; to raise higher; to elevate.

2. To carry forward; to advance; to increase; to augment; to aggravate; to intensify; to render more conspicuous; -- used of things, good or bad; as, to heighten beauty; to heighten a flavor or a tint. "To heighten our confusion." Addison. An aspect of mystery which was easily heightened to the miraculous. Hawthorne.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

15 March 2025

TRUNCATION

(noun) the replacement of an edge or solid angle (as in cutting a gemstone) by a plane (especially by a plane that is equally inclined to the adjacent faces)


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Coffee Trivia

The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.

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