emphatic
Americanadjective
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uttered, or to be uttered, with emphasis; strongly expressive.
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using emphasis in speech or action.
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forceful; insistent.
a big, emphatic man; I must be emphatic about this particular.
- Synonyms:
- definite, unequivocal, decided, pronounced, forcible, energetic, positive
- Antonyms:
- weak
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very impressive or significant; strongly marked; striking.
the emphatic beauty of sunset.
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clearly or boldly outlined.
It stands, like a great, stone dagger, emphatic against the sky.
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Grammar. of or relating to a form used to add emphasis, especially, in English, stressed auxiliary do in affirmative statements, as in He did call you or I do like it.
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Phonetics. having a secondary velar articulation, as certain dental consonants in Arabic.
noun
adjective
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expressed, spoken, or done with emphasis
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forceful and positive; definite; direct
an emphatic personality
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sharp or clear in form, contour, or outline
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important or significant; stressed
the emphatic points in an argument
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phonetics denoting certain dental consonants of Arabic that are pronounced with accompanying pharyngeal constriction
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of emphatic
1700–10; < Greek emphatikós indicative, forceful, equivalent to *emphat ( ós ) ( em- em- 2 + phatós, variant of phantós visible, equivalent to phan-, stem of phaínesthai to appear + -tos adj. suffix) + -ikos -ic
Explanation
Emphatic means forceful and clear. Nicole's mother was emphatic when she told her not to come home late again. When something is emphatic, it imparts emphasis. A sentence is made emphatic by adding an exclamation point, and the word carries with it the important and urgent feeling of that punctuation mark. If a baseball team defeats another by 10 runs, the victory is emphatic because like strong speech, the victory is clear and forceful.
Vocabulary lists containing emphatic
List 7
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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"Fine?" Vocabulary from the short story
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In comparing those statistics with those of its former colonial overlord, Hartnett, Bank of America’s chief equity strategist, found an emphatic stateside outperformance on almost all fronts.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 3, 2026
In comparing those statistics with those of its former colonial overlord, Hartnett, Bank of America’s chief equity strategist, found an emphatic stateside outperformance on almost all fronts.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 3, 2026
An excellent header to bring the Three Lions level before an emphatic goal from Kane carried England to the round of 16.
From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026
Mozeliak didn’t rule himself out as the long-term answer at general manager and was emphatic about not speaking in absolutes.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 27, 2026
Rader said, in a voice that was both sonorous and emphatic, sometimes aggressive, that Fischer would like to announce that he will soon be back at the 64 squares and 32 pieces again...quite soon.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
