Link Centre Dictionary

emphasis

emp·ha·sis

UK/ˈɛmfəsɪs/ US/ˈɛɱfəsɪs/ uncommon

noun

1.

special importance or significance

  • “the red light gave the central figure increased emphasis”
  • “the room was decorated in shades of gray with distinctive red accents”
Synonyms
2.

intensity or forcefulness of expression

  • “the vehemence of his denial”
  • “his emphasis on civil rights”
Synonyms
3.
4.

the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch)

  • “he put the stress on the wrong syllable”
Synonyms

Origin

From Latin emphasis, from Ancient Greek ἔμφασις (émphasis, “significance”), from ἐμφαίνω (emphaínō, “to present; to indicate”), from ἐν- (en-, “in”) + φαίνω (phaínō, “to show”).

Phrases

  • my emphasis

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.