verb · neutral
heighten
/ˈhaɪtən/HEI·ten
Band 5-6task2speaking
to make something increase, especially feelings, awareness, or intensity
Examples
“The new report will heighten public concern about air pollution.”
“His comments only served to heighten tensions between the two sides.”
“Heightened security measures were put in place after the incident.”
Band 8 sentence
“The policy, rather than calming public fears, only served to heighten apprehension about the future.”
Collocations
- heighten awareness
- heighten tensions
- heighten the risk
Word family
height nounheighten verbheightened adjective / past participleheightening noun / gerund
Common mistakes
to make more high→to heighten
heighten up→heighten
The problem heighten→The problem heightens
Say it for a higher band
5increase→6raise→7+heighten
Synonyms
increase
intensify
Easily confused
raise
“They launched a campaign to raise funds for the hospital.”
Related words
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In -en
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