ACCENTUATE is a fun word to teach. It first appeared in England during the early 1700s when it meant to “pronounce with an accent.” In fact, people do notice someone who speaks with an accent. For example, I have a Southern accent that my students always notice. Today the meaning of ACCENTUATE has been broadened from stressing how people speak to describing a general emphasis that makes something more prominent and noticeable.
It is a long way from the interesting etymology of ACCENTUATE to the word’s current use as the answer to an unusually difficult vocabulary in context question. The question began by explaining that the “quantitative analysis of vast historical data” enables modern historians to assess broad historic trends. The reversal word “but” then sends readers a strong signal to expect the passage to make a counterintuitive point. The emphasis upon general trends strongly influences how historians view what the passage calls “the particularity of individual actors.”
Many confused students chose MISCONSTRUE thinking that the emphasis upon broad historical phenomena causes historians to misrepresent individuals. Although MISCONSTRUE is a tempting answer, the context supports ACCENTUATE as the most logical and precise answer.
ACCENTUATE means to emphasize. In a surprising twist, the presence of vast pools of data leads historians to ACCENTUATE individual actors. This is supported by a concluding sentence that introduces a historian’s book about the life and viewpoint of a 17th century London artisan. This study illustrates how a microhistory can ACCENTUATE the way broad historic trends are “experienced at a human level.”
ACCENTUATE - to emphasize; make prominent
MISCONSTRUE - to misunderstand; misinterpret