emphasis
/ˈɛmfəsɪs/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.19 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Prominence given to a syllable or words, by raising the voice or printing in italic or underlined type.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
The phonetic or phonological feature that distinguishes emphatic consonants from other consonants.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "He paused for emphasis before saying who had won."
- "Anglia TV's emphasis is on Norwich and district."
- "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."
- "He used a yellow highlighter to indicate where to give emphasis in his speech."
Etymology
From Latin emphasis, from Ancient Greek ἔμφασις (émphasis, “significance”), from ἐμφαίνω (emphaínō, “to present; to indicate”), from ἐν- (en-, “in”) + φαίνω (phaínō, “to show”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *bʰeh₂-, emphasis, ἔμφασις
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
Frequently Paired Words
de-emphasisation
de-emphasization
emphasisation
emphasise
emphasiser
emphasising
emphasization
emphasize