accentual

American  

[ak-sen-choo-uhl] / ækˈsɛn tʃu əl /

adjective

1. of or relating to accent or stress.

2. Prosody. of or relating to poetry based on the number of stresses, as distinguished from poetry depending on the number of syllables or quantities.

---

accentual British  

/ ækˈsɛntʃʊəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or having accents; rhythmic

2. prosody of or relating to verse based on the number of stresses in a line rather than on the number of syllables Compare quantitative

---

Other Word Forms

• accentuality noun
• accentually adverb
• nonaccentual adjective
• nonaccentually adverb

Etymology

Origin of accentual

1600–10; < Latin accentu ( s ) ( see accent) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Eventually, he stirs in some variations of speed and volume, accentual bursts of sound, with deeper tones and crunch.

From New York Times • Feb. 16, 2024

Otherwise, they dress like the British, their mother tongue is English, with an accentual twang of Indian and they are Christians.

From BBC • Jan. 4, 2013

And he expounds the English accentual verse-system with clearness and vigor.

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Alden, Raymond MacDonald

This is highly important because it shows that although the nomina basis of his prosody is both accentual and syllabic, the latter element is really its defining principle.

From The Art of English Poetry (1708) by Bysshe, Edward

The presence of a tendency toward initial accentuation appears when the average intensities of the four reactions are considered irrespective of accentual position.

From Harvard Psychological Studies, Volume 1 Containing Sixteen Experimental Investigations from the Harvard Psychological Laboratory. by Münsterberg, Hugo