heighten

Everyday

1. To make a feeling, effect or danger stronger or greater. tree →
2. To make something higher or taller (rare in everyday talk). tree →
3. (formal) To increase, as in «heightened security» or «heightened risk». tree →

In the lessons

In stories it tells the reader that tension, fear or excitement is growing: «The silence heightened her fear.» In science and news it means something got stronger: «heightened awareness», «heightened alert». In safety talk: «Smoke heightens the danger of fire.» Common phrases: heighten the tension, heighten awareness, heightened senses.

Examples

• The creaking door heightened our fear. tree →
• Music in a film can heighten the excitement. tree →
• Police were on heightened alert after the storm. tree →
• Eating sugar before bed may heighten a child's energy. tree →
• The poster aims to heighten awareness of road safety. tree →
• Her senses were heightened in the dark forest. tree →
• Builders heightened the wall to keep the goats in. tree →
• The close score heightened the tension in the last minute. tree →
• The clay itself seemed inspired since she had been there, and moulded itself, in heightened beauty, to a likeness of the well-known features. tree →

Note

Regular verb: heightened. Related: height (noun), high (adjective), heighten (verb). Spelling trap: height has no «th» at the end, it is «-ght». Used far more for feelings and effects than for actual height; for making things taller people usually say «raise» or «make higher». Not a maths word: «heighten» does not give a number.