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Which musical instruction tells a performer to give a note particular emphasis?

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emphasis

American  

[em-fuh-sis] / ˈɛm fə sɪs /

noun

• emphases
  plural

1. 

   special stress laid upon, or importance attached to, anything.

   The president's statement gave emphasis to the budgetary crisis.

2. something that is given great stress or importance.

   Morality was the emphasis of his speech.

3. Rhetoric.

   1. special and significant stress of voice laid on particular words or syllables.

   2. stress laid on particular words, by means of position, repetition, or other indication.

4. intensity or force of expression, action, etc..

   Determination lent emphasis to his proposals.

5. prominence, as of form or outline.

   The background detracts from the emphasis of the figure.

6. Electronics. preemphasis.

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emphasis British  

/ ˈɛmfəsɪs /

noun

1. special importance or significance

2. an object, idea, etc, that is given special importance or significance

3. stress made to fall on a particular syllable, word, or phrase in speaking

4. force or intensity of expression

   he spoke with special emphasis on the subject of civil rights

5. sharpness or clarity of form or outline

   the sunlight gave emphasis to the shape of the mountain

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• misemphasis
  noun
• reemphasis
  noun
• superemphasis
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• emphases
  plural

Etymology

Origin of emphasis

First recorded in 1565–75; from Latin, from Greek émphasis “indication,” equivalent to em- em- ² + phásis phasis

Explanation

While the emphasis, or main focus, for walking a dog might be on "answering the call of nature," the emphasis for the dog might be on chasing squirrels. If you say emphasis a little louder or with extra oomph in your pronunciation, you are putting emphasis on the word. This emphasis makes it clear that special attention, or emphasis, should be given to the word. Now, having repeated emphasis so many times, the "s" sound really stands out, sort of like in the word "stress." When you stress a point, you put emphasis on something — it is the main thing, the emphasis.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

emphasis emphases

Yet where most versions of Alexander have their particular emphasis, Edmund Richardson’s outstanding “Alexander: God, King, Man” embraces his complexity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Low participation reflects not only personal barriers but a longstanding emphasis on aerobic activity in public health messaging.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

"Today, all the emphasis is on the inmate in Tennessee," he said.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

I love going to places that put a lot of emphasis on the curation of their coffee beans and the essence and the blends.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

She repeated them, with exactly the same slight emphasis on the second word, as though she had been the one to say them first.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

The show’s photos, predominantly in black and white, document these dramatic emphases as revealed by the stances and gestures of Graham and her dedicated group of women.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

The difference was not just one of opposing political ideologies but of vastly different cultural and human emphases.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2024

“Coming to work, being humble and understanding that we haven’t done much,” McCain said of the defense’s emphases.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 17, 2022

"We need unity among free marketeers. Kemi and Suella Braverman set out convincing programmes, with differing emphases, for change," Lord Frost said.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2022

Mrs Thorne was so well satisfied with the sound of the new word which she had coined that she repeated it twice with different emphases.

From The New Mistress A Tale by George Manville Fenn

Related Words

• attention
• insistence
• intensity
• priority
• significance
• strength
• stress
• weight