emphatic

[ em-fat-ik ]

/ ɛmˈfæt ɪk /

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See synonyms for: emphatic / emphatically / emphaticalness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

uttered, or to be uttered, with emphasis; strongly expressive.

using emphasis in speech or action.

forceful; insistent: a big, emphatic man; I must be emphatic about this particular.

very impressive or significant; strongly marked; striking: the emphatic beauty of sunset.

clearly or boldly outlined: It stands, like a great, stone dagger, emphatic against the sky.

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.

Phonetics. having a secondary velar articulation, as certain dental consonants in Arabic.

noun

an emphatic consonant.

OTHER WORDS FOR emphatic

3 positive, energetic, forcible, pronounced, decided, unequivocal, definite.

See synonyms for emphatic on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR emphatic

3 weak.

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM emphatic

em·phat·i·cal·ly, adverbem·phat·i·cal·ness, nounun·em·phat·ic, adjectiveun·em·phat·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby emphatic

emperor penguin, empery, emphasis, emphasize, emphasized, emphatic, emphatically, emphysema, em pica, empire, empire builder

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use emphatic in a sentence

For the British grassroots initiative RunEqual, the answer to that question is an emphatic “yes.”
Should Men and Women Race the Same Distance?|Martin Fritz Huber|January 27, 2021|Outside Online
Louis Vuitton’s Fall 2021 menswear show was an emphatic note to self.
Virgil Abloh Brings Louis Vuitton Home With Fall Menswear|Nandi Howard|January 22, 2021|Essence.com
From Miami to Manhattan, hospital leaders and public officials have been equally emphatic.
‘Pixie dust’: Why some vaccine sits on shelves while shortages intensify nationwide|Isaac Stanley-Becker, Lena H. Sun|January 22, 2021|Washington Post
In expressing emphatic support for the protests, the West meanwhile ignores Beijing’s hard-wired national security fears over Hong Kong.
The Only Path Ahead for Hong Kong Is Reform|Brian Wong|January 13, 2021|Time

Hanging over the process is the fact that Netanyahu's emphatic rejection of any deal in 2015 effectively sidelined Israel as Barack Obama sealed the previous deal.
Scoop: Netanyahu demands full control over Israel's Iran policy, sparking pushback|Barak Ravid|January 7, 2021|Axios
The adjudication of the Daily Beast office was clear and emphatic: penguin, penguin, penguin.
How Monty The Penguin Won Christmas: Britain’s Epic, Emotional Commercials|Tim Teeman|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The CDC too, has been emphatic in their promotion of the technique.
Doctors Without Borders Hits Ebola Breaking Point|Abby Haglage, Kent Sepkowitz|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At the 92Y talk, de la Renta was emphatic about the future of his label.
Fashion Designer Oscar de la Renta, American Great, Dead at 82|Tim Teeman|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is a creepy sound, inhumanly high-pitched and strangely clipped and emphatic: “S-s-eeg maheevoh s-s-speeree.”
The Stacks: The Judas Priest Teen Suicide Trial|Ivan Solotaroff|June 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With a commanding voice and an emphatic, Emeril-esque “WOW!”
Meet the Chef Fighting to Ensure That Brazilians Will Never Be as Fat as Americans|Brandon Presser|June 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He sang the words with an odd, emphatic slowness, turning to look at Lettice between the phrases.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
The merest acquaintance would have said something more emphatic than "I will, thank you; good-by," to such a request.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
He had the military trick of putting an emphatic order in the fewest and simplest words.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
She had once been almost as emphatic in expressing herself upon the subject as the corner grocer.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
The emphatic al places the alchemist as much above the ordinary chemist as the gold which he obtains is superior to other metals.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10)|Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)

British Dictionary definitions for emphatic

emphatic

/ (ɪmˈfætɪk) /

adjective

expressed, spoken, or done with emphasis

forceful and positive; definite; directan emphatic personality

sharp or clear in form, contour, or outline

important or significant; stressedthe emphatic points in an argument

phonetics denoting certain dental consonants of Arabic that are pronounced with accompanying pharyngeal constriction

noun

phonetics an emphatic consonant, as used in Arabic

Word Origin for emphatic

C18: from Greek emphatikos expressive, forceful, from emphainein to exhibit, display, from phainein to show

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

emphatic

OTHER WORDS FOR emphatic

OPPOSITES FOR emphatic

Origin of emphatic

OTHER WORDS FROM emphatic

Words nearby emphatic

Words related to emphatic

How to use emphatic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for emphatic

Word Origin for emphatic