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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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.
After four minutes the answer was an emphatic no.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
Unleashing a powerful move on the far turn under jockey Junior Alvarado, Sovereignty took the lead from stablemate Knightsbridge and rolled to an emphatic 1¾-length victory over The Puma.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
They destroyed them, culminating with Thursday’s 6-4 victory at Dodger Stadium to wrap up an emphatic four-game sweep.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
October has also been an ugly month for the sector but this time around, JPMorgan’s global strategy team does not anticipate a recovery anywhere near as speedy and emphatic.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
She had once been almost as emphatic in expressing herself upon the subject as the comer grocer.
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
