heighten
/ˈhaɪ̯.tən/verb
heighten is spelled H-E-I-G-H-T-E-N: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,320th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, heighten means “To make high; to raise higher; to elevate” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in heighten?
| Letters | 8: H-E-I-G-H-T-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 35,320th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is heighten?
Heighten appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,320th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce heighten?
- /ˈhaɪ̯.tən/
- [ˈhaɪ̯tn̩]
- [ˈhaɪ̯ʔn̩]
Heighten has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-heighten.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of heighten
- heightens present, singular, he/she/it
- heightening participle, present
- heightened participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does heighten mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make high; to raise higher; to elevate.
- 2
To advance, increase, augment, make larger, more intense, stronger etc.
to heighten beauty
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Heighten in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | hausser |
| Portuguese | elevar , aumentar |
| Spanish | elevar , realzar, amplificar, intensificar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does heighten come from?
From Middle English heightenen, hyghtenen, equivalent to height + -en (verbal suffix).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).