accented

accented — adjective

1. (of a person's speech) carrying clear traces of a foreign or regional way of pro

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

(of a person's speech) carrying clear traces of a foreign or regional way of pronouncing words, so listeners can tell where the speaker is from.

Example

Maria's heavily accented English made the customers in the bakery smile.

heavily accented + [language]

The professor spoke softly accented French throughout the lecture in Lyon.

[adverb] + accented + [language]

Common collocations
  • heavily accented
  • lightly accented
  • softly accented
  • strongly accented
  • slightly accented English/French/Spanish
Synonyms
  • broken

    stronger; suggests grammar errors plus accent, often less fluent

  • foreign-sounding

    more descriptive phrase, less formal than 'accented'

  • thick

    informal; often paired with 'accent' rather than with the speech itself

Antonyms
  • unaccented

    speaking with no detectable foreign or regional pronunciation

  • native-sounding

    phrase, suggests speech indistinguishable from a native speaker

Grammar Patterns

heavily/strongly accented

[adverb] + accented + [language/speech]

Usage Note

Almost always preceded by an adverb of degree (heavily, strongly, lightly, softly, slightly) plus the name of a language or region. Rarely used on its own without that adverb modifier.

Common Mistakes

He speaks an accented.
He speaks accented English.
'accented' is an adjective and needs a noun (a language or speech) after it.
Her English is very accent.
Her English is heavily accented.
use the adjective form 'accented', not the noun 'accent', after 'be'.

2. (of a syllable, beat, or note) said or played with extra force so that it stands

2.adjectiveC1
Definition

(of a syllable, beat, or note) said or played with extra force so that it stands out from the syllables, beats, or notes around it.

Example

In the word 'banana', the middle syllable is the accented one.

the accented syllable in [word]

The piano teacher told Mei to play the accented notes a little louder.

accented notes + verb of playing

Common collocations
  • accented syllable
  • accented beat
  • accented note
  • strongly accented
Synonyms
  • stressed

    the most common everyday term for syllables in linguistics

  • emphasized

    broader; works for ideas as well as sounds

Antonyms
  • unstressed

    the standard linguistic opposite for syllables

Grammar Patterns

the accented syllable

an accented note/beat

Usage Note

Typically appears before a noun like 'syllable', 'beat', or 'note'. Distinguish from sense 1 (which describes a person's speech as a whole) and sense 3 (which describes written marks on letters).

Common Mistakes

This note is accent louder.
This is the accented note, so play it louder.
use 'accented' as a modifier before the noun, not after a copula with another adjective.

3. (of a letter or vowel on the page) carrying a small written sign above or below

3.adjectiveC1
Definition

(of a letter or vowel on the page) carrying a small written sign above or below it, such as é, à, or ñ, that tells the reader how to say it.

Example

French uses several accented letters, including é, è, and ê on the vowel e.

accented letters + examples

Hugo's keyboard could not type the accented n in his sister's name, Niña.

accented + [specific letter]

Common collocations
  • accented letter
  • accented character
  • accented vowel
  • accented e/a/n
Synonyms
  • diacritical

    more technical; used in linguistics and typography

  • marked

    very general; only clear from context that the marks are accents

Antonyms
  • unaccented

    a letter written without any diacritic mark

  • plain

    informal; describes letters with no extra symbols

Grammar Patterns

accented + [letter/character]

accented vowel/letter

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 2: this sense is about visible marks on paper or screen, while sense 2 is about how a syllable or note sounds when spoken or played. Often used when discussing typing, fonts, or learning a foreign script.

Common Mistakes

Type an accented on the e.
Type an accented e.
'accented' must modify a letter or character; it cannot stand alone as a noun.

Word family

  • accent
    nounB1
  • accent
    verbC1
  • accentuate
    verbC1
  • accentuation
    nounC2
  • unaccented
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

These four expressions all describe non-native speech, but they differ in tone and what they emphasise. 'Accented' is the neutral, polite choice and focuses only on pronunciation: 'her lightly accented English' simply notes that you can hear where she is from. 'Broken' is much stronger and suggests both unclear pronunciation and clear grammar mistakes, often hinting at low fluency: 'he spoke broken English' implies real difficulty. 'Thick' is informal and usually goes with the noun 'accent' rather than 'accented' itself, as in 'a thick Scottish accent'; it stresses how strong the accent sounds. 'Foreign-sounding' is descriptive and slightly distancing — useful when the speaker's origin is unknown. For respectful writing, prefer 'accented' or 'foreign-sounding' over 'broken'.

accented ↗broken ↗thick ↗foreign-sounding

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • heavily accented English
  • lightly accented voice
  • an accented syllable
  • accented letters such as é

Etymology

GreekLatinOld FrenchEnglish

Built from the noun 'accent' plus the past-participle ending '-ed'. 'Accent' came into English in the late 1300s through Old French 'accent', which itself was borrowed from Latin 'accentus', meaning 'a song added to speech' (from 'ad-' 'to' + 'cantus' 'singing'). Latin scholars coined 'accentus' as a direct translation of the Greek 'prosōidía'. The adjective 'accented' first appeared in English in the 1600s, originally describing syllables marked or pronounced with stress, and later widening to cover speech with a foreign tone and letters carrying diacritic marks.