Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

heighten

/ˈhaɪ̯.tən/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.84 in modern English

Syllables: height-en
IPA: /ˈhaɪ̯.tən/

15

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To make high; to raise higher; to elevate.

verb

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

Example Sentences

"Black Bridge, near Machynlleth, is being heightened by one metre in a £3.6 million project to reduce delays caused by flooding."
"to heighten beauty"
"to heighten a flavor or a tint"
"to heighten awareness"
"to heighten tension"
"the excitement heightened"

Etymology

From Middle English heightenen, hyghtenen, equivalent to height + -en (verbal suffix).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: heightenen
Suffix: height

Inflected Forms

heightens (present, singular) heightening (participle, present) heightened (participle, past) heightened (past)

Derived Forms

heightener overheighten reheighten

Phrases

heighten up

Synonyms

intensify compound deepen enhance raise sharpen rise

Homonyms

Huyton

Antonyms

lessen

Rhymes With

brighton titan tighten lighten brighten enlighten frighten triton whiten knighton guyton reitan

Questions

How do you pronounce heighten?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈhaɪ̯.tən/.
What does heighten mean?: To make high; to raise higher; to elevate.
Where does heighten come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce heighten

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “heighten”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈhaɪ̯.tən/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “heighten”.
Repeat and practice — Say “heighten” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.