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.
Three innings later, it was the Tampa Bay Rays who were partying on the Yankee Stadium field after a 4-3 victory, completing an emphatic three-game sweep of the Yankees in the division series.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Parliament re-appointed Abiy as premier following his party's emphatic victory in June elections.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
Odegaard scored after a perfectly timed, intelligent run into the box that allowed him to step on to Kai Havertz's clever dummy before sending an emphatic finish past Chelsea keeper Emiliano Martinez.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Koivun went from turning pro barely a month ago to winning a $1.6 million payday, and he did it in emphatic fashion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
He looked toward Mother, who gave a quick but emphatic shake of the head.
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
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.
