How to Use heighten in a Sentence

heighten

verb
  • The plan will only heighten tensions between the two groups.
  • Tensions between the two groups have heightened.
  • This tragedy has heightened our awareness of the need for improved safety measures.
  • Most teams slow down when the pressure heightens.
    — Shane Young, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
  • Here, the stakes are heightened far past the point of a lawsuit.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
  • In hip-hop, that pressure to fit in and show off is heightened.
    — Glenn Gamboa, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Aug. 2023
  • That’s heightened by the fact that there’s a show within the show.
    — Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 19 Apr. 2023
  • Even one rough night can heighten anxiety and drag down mood.
    — Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2025
  • This time around the tension could be heightened even further.
    — Christina Cheddar Berk, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2025
  • The state’s role as a gateway state with its ports heightens the risk of a foreign threat.
    — Jenny Goldsberry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Solar panels on a flat roof cannot heighten the roof by more than 5 feet.
    — Bob Sandrick, cleveland, 23 Aug. 2021
  • Add acid such as fruit vinegars to heighten and round out flavors, even those of fresh fruit.
    — Washington Post, 20 July 2021
  • Those themes were heightened by making Louis a Black gay man.
    — Tyler Coates, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 June 2023
  • And casting Sarah Michelle in that part heightens all of that.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 23 Mar. 2026
  • The quiet bustle of the room heightens to a low-level buzz of stress.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 3 Sep. 2025
  • The effect is heightened for light fixtures.
    — Kristina McGuirk, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Williams still kept the idea of natural tones for Ivy but heightened them.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2025
  • This seemed only to heighten the sense of pleasure in the clear day that escaped the haze.
    — Washington Post, 8 Nov. 2020
  • Yeah, there’s stuff going on that can heighten the Delta numbers.
    — Josh Fischman, Scientific American, 18 June 2021
  • Lunar eclipses tend to pull at our heartstrings and heighten passions.
    — Lisa Stardust, Refinery29, 5 Sep. 2025
  • This turn for the heightened has both benefits and drawbacks.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 8 May 2026
  • This means every single famous bit from the first movie is called back, though rarely heightened.
    — Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 30 July 2025
  • For the first time, his presence didn’t heighten my nervous system.
    — Jennifer Wolfgram, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
  • The tragedy hasn’t heightened his concerns, but Okes can’t help but reflect.
    — Collin Woodard / Jalopnik, Quartz, 31 May 2024
  • Climate change has also heightened risks.
    — Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 24 Apr. 2026
  • These factors combine to heighten the risk of wildfires.
    — Mukesh Kumar, The Conversation, 17 June 2026
  • As tensions heightened, police moved to disperse the crowd.
    — Michael Peregrine, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026
  • And the rise of the Delta variant may only heighten these worries.
    — New York Times, 7 Aug. 2021
  • Wet ground and remaining foliage on trees may heighten the threat for tree damage.
    — Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
  • As the day goes on, the nerves heighten into something akin to hysteria.
    — Lauren Puckett-Pope, ELLE, 17 Aug. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'heighten.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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