Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🔊 To make stronger ⬆️ To make higher
to heighten

to heighten

2 3.8
To make something higher, like a fence or bridge
  • verb
  • /ˈhaɪtən/
translation icon : elevar
  • A terracotta portrait was burnished to a luminous sheen that was heightened by mica dust in the clay.
  • heightened scrutiny
  • heightened risk

Examples

  • The artist used bright colors to heighten the vibrancy of the painting.

  • The only thing they can do now is go forward with how to make sure security is heightened for our other consulates.

    Blog text (21)

  • By focusing on a girl who is biracial, who has white friends and black friends, it heightens the conflict.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Surveillance approved by the court does not have to meet the heightened requirements mandated by the Fourth Amendment.

    Academic text (2003)

  • There are many reasons that Piwowski's films gained such a position, but the most important is his talent for capturing on camera ordinary life in Poland and heightening its most absurd features.

    Academic text (2016)

  • He decided to heighten the fence around his garden for added privacy.

  • To improve the view, they needed to heighten the balcony railing.

Synonyms

to raise
vsto heighten
484 1.0

To lift something to a higher position or make it stand out

focuses on physical height increase rather than making things stand out
to lift
vsto heighten
220 1.0

To rise or move to a higher position

is about making something higher rather than rising on its own
to elevate
vsto heighten
128 3.9

To move something to a higher place or level

is limited to changing physical height rather than abstract levels
to lift up
vsto heighten
107 1.1

To raise someone or something to a higher place

can mean increasing height in other ways not only physical moving
to bump up
vsto heighten
23 3.4

To raise prices or amounts by a lot

is a general rise in height rather than a notably marked increase
to jack up
vsto heighten
  • Informal
12 5.9

To raise prices or rent suddenly by a lot

is a steady or neutral increase in height not a sudden large jump
to raise up
vsto heighten
7 2.1

To lift something or someone to a higher place

is about making an object's height greater rather than promoting people
to uprear
vsto heighten
  • Archaic
8.8

To lift something to a higher position

refers to making physical height greater rather than just changing position

Antonyms

to lower
802 1.0

Make something go down in position, amount, or strength

How High

to hoist
79 4.7
to elevate
128 3.9
to heighten
2 3.8
raise
4 2.9
to lift
553 1.0

Surface Forms

heighten infinitive
heightened past
heightened past participle
heightening present participle
heightens third person singular

Morphology

heighten = height (transparent) = height + en

The verb 'heighten' is transparently derived from 'height' with the suffix '-en', indicating the action of increasing the height of something.

Etymology

Heighten comes from the common word height ('how high something is') and the verb ending -en ('make'). So to heighten a fence or bridge is to 'make it taller', which explains the literal, physical meaning.