emphatic

American  

[em-fat-ik] / ɛmˈfæt ɪk /

adjective

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

2. using emphasis in speech or action.

3. forceful; insistent.

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

   Synonyms:

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

   Antonyms:

   weak

4. very impressive or significant; strongly marked; striking.

   the emphatic beauty of sunset.

5. clearly or boldly outlined.

   It stands, like a great, stone dagger, emphatic against the sky.

6. 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.

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

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noun

1. an emphatic consonant.

emphatic British  

/ ɪmˈfætɪk /

adjective

1. expressed, spoken, or done with emphasis

2. forceful and positive; definite; direct

   an emphatic personality

3. sharp or clear in form, contour, or outline

4. important or significant; stressed

   the emphatic points in an argument

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

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noun

1. phonetics an emphatic consonant, as used in Arabic

Other Word Forms

• emphatically adverb
• emphaticalness noun
• unemphatic adjective
• unemphatically adverb

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

Example Sentences

Therefore a chunky tenth of a fund in gold is quite an emphatic call, even if many funds have been raising their gold holdings in the last couple of years.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026

Only days ago, during the semifinal against England, it was Samson who took the award, for an identical score, and at the time he was emphatic that Bumrah should have received the honour.

From BBC • Mar. 9, 2026

Consecutive, emphatic defeats by Scotland and Ireland, which followed a 12-game winning streak, have scuppered England's hopes of a first Six Nations title in six years.

From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026

Liu’s gold medal was perhaps the most emphatic response to a topic which hovers over every Games: pressure.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026

Colin said, his finger in the air, mock emphatic.

From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green

Related Words

• assertive
• categorical
• confident
• definite
• definitive
• energetic
• explicit
• forceful
• impressive
• pronounced
• resounding
• sober
• sure
• telling
• unmistakable
• vigorous