English Dictionary
Definition of “emphasis”
emphasis (ˈɛmfəsɪs
)
Definitions
noun
- special importance or significance
- an object, idea, etc, that is given special importance or significance
- stress made to fall on a particular syllable, word, or phrase in speaking
- force or intensity of expression ⇒
he spoke with special emphasis on the subject of civil rights
- sharpness or clarity of form or outline ⇒
the sunlight gave emphasis to the shape of the mountain
Word Origin
C16: via Latin from Greek: meaning, (in rhetoric) significant stress; see emphatic
Synonyms
View thesaurus entry
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importance,
attention,
weight,
significance,
stress,
strength,
priority,
moment,
intensity,
insistence,
prominence,
underscoring,
pre-eminence,
Usage examples
What a heavy emphasis he must have put on an act that Stein had considered routine.
Duncan, Robert L, The Serpent's Mark (1990)Freidel says emphasis on different factors in the program's algorithms result in these diverse "personalities".
New Scientist (2004)Donegal has also benefited from a range of low-cost road safety remedial measures and more emphasis on education.
Irish Times (2002)But the tone, the emphasis , the narrative trust is delivered with empathetic passion.
Glasgow Herald (2001)The Board was increasingly uncertain about the `national character ' emphasis.
Susie Gilbert and Jay Shir, A TALE OF FOUR HOUSES: Opera at Covent Garden, La Scala, Vienna and the Met since 1945 (2003)
