| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | stress, give priority to |
| Synonyms: | accent, accentuate, affirm, articulate, assert, bear down, charge, dramatize, dwell on, enlarge, enunciate, headline, highlight, hit*, impress, indicate, insist on, italicize, labor the point, limelight, maintain, make a point, make clear, make emphatic, make much of, mark, pinpoint, play up, point out*, point up, press, pronounce, punctuate, put accent on, reiterate, repeat, rub in, spotlight*, underline, underscore, weight |
| Antonyms: | depreciate, forget, ignore, play down, understate |
| Main Entry: | accentuate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | focus attention on |
| Synonyms: | accent, bring attention to, call attention to, draw attention to, emphasize, feature, give prominence to, highlight, point up, spotlight, stress, underline, underscore |
| Antonyms: | divert attention from, mask |
| Main Entry: | bring out |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | draw out |
| Synonyms: | bring to light, emphasize, expose, highlight, introduce, publish, utter |
| Main Entry: | dwell on/dwell upon |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | linger over; be engrossed in |
| Synonyms: | consider, continue, elaborate, emphasize, expatiate, harp on, involve oneself, tarry over |
| Antonyms: | forget, ignore, miss, pass |
| Main Entry: | enforce |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | put a rule, plan in force |
| Synonyms: | accomplish, administer, administrate, apply, carry out, coerce, commandeer, compel, constrain, crack down, demand, dictate, discharge, dragoon, drive, effect, egg on, emphasize, exact, execute, exert, expect, extort, force upon, fortify, fulfill, goad, hound, impel, implement, impose, incite, insist on, invoke, lash, lean on, make, necessitate, oblige, perform, press, prosecute, put into effect, put screws to, reinforce, require, sanction, spur, strain, stress, strong-arm, support, urge, whip, wrest |
| Antonyms: | abandon, disregard, drop, forego, forget, give up, neglect, overlook |
| Main Entry: | exaggerate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | overstate, embellish |
| Synonyms: | amplify, blow out of proportion, boast, boost, brag, build up, caricature, color, cook up, corrupt, distort, embroider, emphasize, enlarge, exalt, expand, fabricate, falsify, fudge, go to extremes, heighten, hike, hyperbolize, inflate, intensify, lay it on thick, lie, loud talk, magnify, make too much of, misquote, misreport, misrepresent, overdo, overdraw, overemphasize, overestimate, pad, pretty up, puff, put on, pyramid, romance, romanticize, scam, stretch, up* |
| Antonyms: | depreciate, minimize, play down, reduce, understate |
| Main Entry: | feature |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | give prominence to |
| Synonyms: | accentuate, advertise, blaze*, call attention to, emphasize, headline, italicize, make conspicuous, mark, play up, point up, present, promote, set off, spotlight*, star, stress, underline, underscore |
| Notes: | the opener comes first in a three-comic show, followed by the feature, followed by the headliner |
| Antonyms: | disregard, ignore |
| Main Entry: | illustrate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | demonstrate, exemplify |
| Synonyms: | allegorize, bring home, clarify, clear, clear up, delineate, depict, disclose, draw a picture, elucidate, emblematize, embody, emphasize, epitomize, evidence, evince, exhibit, explain, expose, expound, get across, get over, highlight, illuminate, imitate, instance, interpret, lay out, limelight, make clear, make plain, manifest, mark, mirror, ostend, personify, picture, point up, portray, proclaim, represent, reveal, show, show and tell, spotlight*, symbolize, typify, vivify |
| Antonyms: | hide, obscure |
| Main Entry: | intensify |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make more forceful, severe |
| Synonyms: | accent, accentuate, add fuel, add to, aggrandize, aggravate, augment, beef up, boost, brighten, build up, concentrate, darken, deepen, emphasize, enhance, escalate, exacerbate, exalt, heat up, heighten, increase, intensate, lighten, magnify, point, pour it on, quicken, raise, redouble, reinforce, rise, rouse, set off, sharpen, spike*, step up, strengthen, stress, tone up, whet |
| Antonyms: | calm, lower, slow, soothe, weaken |