Meanings
nounemphasis (countable and uncountable, plural emphases)
plural emphases
- countableuncountableSpecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important.
He paused for emphasis before saying who had won.
- countableuncountableSpecial attention or prominence given to something.
Anglia TV's emphasis is on Norwich and district.
2 more examples
Put emphasis on the advantages rather than the drawbacks.
The second level of reading we will call Inspectional Reading. It is characterized by its special emphasis on time.
1972, Mortimer J. Adler, Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 18 - countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe phonetic or phonological feature that distinguishes emphatic consonants from other consonants.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch)
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἔμφασις“significance”
- Latinemphasis
- Englishemphasis
From Latin emphasis, from Ancient Greek ἔμφασις (émphasis, “significance”), from ἐμφαίνω (emphaínō, “to present; to indicate”), from ἐν- (en-, “in”) + φαίνω (phaínō, “to show”).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἔμφασις
- ἔμφασις (émphasis)special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
Arabic تَرْكِيز
- تَرْكِيز (tarkīz)special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
Bulgarian акце́нт, подчертаване
- акце́нт (akcént)special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- подчертаване (podčertavane)special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- емфа́за (emfáza)special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- емфа́за (emfáza)special attention or prominence given to something
- ударение (udarenie)prominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
- емфа́за (emfáza)prominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Catalan èmfasi, èmfasi
- èmfasispecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- èmfasispecial attention or prominence given to something
- èmfasiprominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
- èmfasitypography: the use of boldface, italics, or other such formatting to highlight text
Chinese Mandarin 強調 /强调, 強勢 /强势
- 強調 /强调 (qiángdiào)special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- 強勢 /强势 (qiángshì)prominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Czech důraz, zdůraznění
- důrazspecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- zdůrazněníspecial attention or prominence given to something
- důrazprominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
- důrazphonology: the phonetic or phonological feature that distinguishes emphatic consonants from other consonants
Danish vægt, emfase
- vægtspecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- emfaseprominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
- betoningprominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Dutch nadruk, benadrukking
- nadrukspecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- benadrukkingspecial attention or prominence given to something
- klemtoonprominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
- beklemtoningprominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Esperanto akcento, akcento
- akcentospecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- akcentoprominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Finnish painotus, painottaa
- painotusspecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- painottaaspecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- painopistespecial attention or prominence given to something
- painoprominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
- emfaasiphonology: the phonetic or phonological feature that distinguishes emphatic consonants from other consonants
- lihavointitypography: the use of boldface, italics, or other such formatting to highlight text
French accent, emphase
- accentspecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- emphasespecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
German Nachdruck, Eindringlichkeit
- Nachdruckspecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- Eindringlichkeitspecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- Emphasespecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- Schwerpunktspecial attention or prominence given to something
- Hauptaugenmerkspecial attention or prominence given to something
- Fokusspecial attention or prominence given to something
- Betonungprominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Greek έμφαση, έμφαση
- έμφαση (émfasi)special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- έμφαση (émfasi)special attention or prominence given to something
- έμφαση (émfasi)prominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Hebrew דָּגֵשׁ, הטעמה
- דָּגֵשׁ (dagésh)special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- הטעמה (hat'amá)prominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Hungarian nyomaték, hangsúly
- nyomatékspecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- hangsúlyspecial attention or prominence given to something
- hangsúlyprominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
- kiemelésprominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Irish béim
- béimspecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
Italian enfasi, risalto
- enfasispecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- risaltospecial attention or prominence given to something
- enfasiprominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Japanese 強調, 注目
- 強調 (kyōchō)special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- 注目 (chūmoku)special attention or prominence given to something
- 重点 (jyūten)special attention or prominence given to something
- 強調 (kyōchō)prominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
- 強勢 (kyōsei)prominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
- 強調 (kyōchō)typography: the use of boldface, italics, or other such formatting to highlight text
Korean 강조, 강세
- 강조 (gangjo)special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- 강세 (gangse)prominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Norwegian Bokmål vektlegging
- vektleggingspecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
Persian تأکید, تأکید
- تأکید (ta'kid)special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- تأکید (ta'kid)special attention or prominence given to something
- تأکید (ta'kid)prominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Polish akcent, nacisk
- akcentspecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- naciskspecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- akcentspecial attention or prominence given to something
- naciskspecial attention or prominence given to something
- akcentprominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
- akcentphonology: the phonetic or phonological feature that distinguishes emphatic consonants from other consonants
Portuguese ênfase, ênfase
- ênfasespecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- ênfasespecial attention or prominence given to something
- ênfaseprominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Punjabi ਜੋਰ
- ਜੋਰ (jor)special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
Romanian emfază, emfază
- emfazăspecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- emfazăspecial attention or prominence given to something
- emfazăprominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Russian подчёркивание, ударе́ние
- подчёркивание (podčórkivanije)special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- ударе́ние (udarénije)special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- осо́бое внима́ние (osóboje vnimánije)special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- акце́нт (akcént)special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- ударе́ние (udarénije)prominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Scottish Gaelic cudrom, cudrom
- cudromspecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- cudromprominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Spanish énfasis, hincapié
- énfasisspecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- hincapiéspecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- énfasisspecial attention or prominence given to something
- énfasisprominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Turkish vurgu, vurgu
- vurguspecial weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- vurguspecial attention or prominence given to something
- vurguprominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Ukrainian на́голос, акце́нт
- на́голос (náholos)special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- акце́нт (akcént)special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important
- на́голос (náholos)prominence given to a syllable or words, whether in speech or in printing
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
emphasis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/emphasis
MLA
“emphasis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/emphasis. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “emphasis,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/emphasis.
Source: emphasis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.