accent

(noun) distinctive manner of oral expression. Synonyms: speech pattern. Examples: "He couldn't suppress his contemptuous accent." "She had a very clear speech pattern."

(noun) special importance or significance. Synonyms: emphasis. Examples: "The red light gave the central figure increased emphasis." "The room was decorated in shades of grey with distinctive red accents."

(noun) the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people. Synonyms: dialect, idiom. Examples: "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."

(noun) the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch). Synonyms: stress, emphasis. Example: "He put the stress on the wrong syllable."

(noun) a diacritical mark used to indicate stress or placed above a vowel to indicate a special pronunciation. Synonyms: accent mark.

(verb) to stress, single out as important. Synonyms: stress, emphasize, emphasise, punctuate, accentuate. Example: "Dr. jones emphasizes exercise in addition to a change in diet."

(verb) put stress on; utter with an accent. Synonyms: stress, accentuate. Example: "In farsi, you accent the last syllable of each word."