heighten

"Building material tariffs heighten market uncertainty, strain supply chains and increase construction costs," he says.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

A dry winter will make the current drought worse and heighten government concerns.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Temperatures are forecast to rise, and wind later this week could heighten conditions for fire to spread more easily, according to the National Weather Service in Spokane.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Psychologically, mirrors heighten self-awareness, and thus prompt people to behave better overall, more in line with ideals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

The Oppenheimer case did more than heighten the conflict between scientists and bureaucracy; it also caused a deep rift within the scientific community that would not be healed for years.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Feeding wild birds heightens the risk of disease transmission at feeding locations.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026

Coverage of the 1986 World Series doesn’t mention Boston’s 68-year stretch without a title, which heightens the devastation of their Game 6 loss to the New York Mets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Investors are willing to accept such rates because of the volatility of AI shares, which heightens the appeal of the potential stock conversion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026

Experts say cases of invasive meningococcal disease tend to peak in October to November each year, which further heightens the risk for new university students.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

In fact I have never seen so handsome a people, and their manly and highly picturesque costume heightens the favourable effect produced by their well-made, lithe, active figures.

From Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Volume II (of 2) Including a Summer in the Upper Karun Region and a Visit to the Nestorian Rayahs by Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy) Bird

Safety concerns around technology have also heightened as companies double down on advancing artificial intelligence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

After achieving a historic surplus in 2025, China's trade has continued to boom this year, thanks largely to heightened overseas demand for semiconductors, computing hardware and other products linked to the artificial intelligence boom.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

“The investor mindset shifted, and now sentiment shifts,” said Nationwide’s Hackett, pointing to heightened backlash against the data-center build-out from politicians ahead of the midterm elections, as well as from average voters.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

Investor concerns about potential intervention may also be heightened given the Labor Day holiday in the U.S. on Monday, when foreign-exchange intervention could have an outsized impact given thin trading volumes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Now cooking was an exercise in heightened anxiety.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini

The Treasury selloff could also turn into bad news for car buyers, heightening the risk of higher interest rates for auto loans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

And I’m sure the threat of being sued by your current employer is just heightening any anxiety you already have around the job-hunting process.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

The outbreak is still not under control and is taking place in a conflict zone with very mobile populations – heightening the need for a vaccine to help stop the spread of disease.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

But the Middle East conflict has strained shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for supplies, heightening unease among farmers ahead of the July-October sowing period.

From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026

He could feel a heightening of interest in the room.

From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier