emphatically
Britishadverb
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with emphasis or force
-
definitely or unquestionably
Explanation
When you say something emphatically, you say it with great emphasis and force, like when you emphatically denied that you took the last cookie. Emphatically, pronounced "em-FAT-ick-lee," shares the same origin as emphasize, which means "to stress or put particular importance on something." When you say or do something emphatically, you really mean it. For example, if you emphatically say "no" when someone asks you on a date, that person isn't likely to ask you — or even look in your direction — again.
Vocabulary lists containing emphatically
A Christmas Carol
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The Giver
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Wonder
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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.
Students for Life president Kristan Hawkins once wrote that “we state again emphatically that we oppose prosecuting women for abortion.”
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026
The U.S. is emphatically different in this regard, the author says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Veteran UK Labour politician Andy Burnham emphatically won a crunch by-election on Friday, securing a parliamentary seat and clearing the way for a widely expected leadership challenge against beleaguered Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
In 2015 he opened an office in Detroit, where his firm would author emphatically modern buildings that felt textured by the Motor City’s industrial legacy, celebrating both its past and its new promise.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Almost every man and woman agreed with Ruby’s assessment of the situation in the Miracle Valley; “Yessir, that Zopilote has got to go,” they cried emphatically.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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.
