emphasized

American  

[em-fuh-sahyzd] / ˈɛm fəˌsaɪzd /

especially British, emphasised

adjective

1. made more visible, more important, etc.; stressed.

   Read the emphasized sentence carefully, and contrast it with the information given in the previous paragraph.

   Good sportsmanship was the emphasized theme of the club's operations.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of emphasize.

Other Word Forms

• unemphasized
  adjective
• well-emphasized
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of emphasized

emphasize ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

Something that's emphasized is stressed. The emphasized point of a politician's speech might be lowering taxes. When you put stress on something or pay it extra attention, you can describe it as emphasized. There are emphasized syllables in words, emphasized subjects in school, and emphasized parts of a wedding reception speech. The source of the adjective emphasized is the noun emphasis, "importance or stress." Emphasis is a Greek word, used in rhetoric to mean "significance" or "indirect meaning," from emphainein, "let a thing be seen."

Example Sentences

Lower energy prices will put it in a position to “do the right thing” and cut rates, he said, though he emphasized new chair Kevin Warsh should act independently.

From Barron's • May 26, 2026

India emphasized that it, too, looks at each issue from its own pragmatic interests.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026

In talking about leadership, he emphasized that the foundation of military command begins with personal discipline.

From Salon • May 24, 2026

The researchers emphasized that the project is still at the proof of concept stage and has not yet been fully optimized for efficiency or maximum lithium recovery.

From Science Daily • May 23, 2026

I emphasized that last bit as we stepped onto the dirt road leading back to Granddad and Nana’s house.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

Related Words

• accentuate
• affirm
• assert
• highlight
• indicate
• maintain
• point out
• reiterate
• repeat
• underline
• underscore