Emphasis: Definition, Examples, and Usage Tips

Meaning 1：giving special importance (emphasis)

emphasis 🔊

/ˈɛmfəsɪs/

giving special importance or attention to one part of something when you speak or write, to make it stand out.

Teacher emphasizing a point on whiteboard with red circle

giving special importance 🔊

➕

/ˈɡɪvɪŋ ˈspɛʃəl ɪmˈpɔːrtəns/

The act of giving extra weight or significance to a particular point in speech or writing to draw attention to it.

📁 Category：School Education 🔖 Level：intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Greek 'emphainein' (em- 'in' + phainein 'to show').

💡 Mnemonic

Think 'em-PHA-sis' — put the 'PHAsis' (focus) on the key point to make it stand out.

📖 Example

My teacher's comments put a lot of emphasis on using clear examples in my essays. 🔊 My teacher's comments put a lot of emphasis on using clear examples in my essays.

🔗 Collocations

put emphasis on – to give special importance to something

emphasis is placed on – importance is given to something

with emphasis on – focusing particularly on something

🔄 Synonyms

stress (n.) – special importance or significance given to something

accent (n.) – special importance or prominence given to something

highlight (n.) – the most prominent or important part of something

🚫 Antonyms

de-emphasis (n.) – the reduction of importance or attention given to something

understatement (n.) – the presentation of something as being smaller or less important than it really is

🌱 Derivatives

emphasize (v.) – to give special importance to something

emphatic (adj.) – expressing something in a strong and definite way

emphatically (adv.) – in a way that expresses something strongly and clearly

📖 Cultural Story

Originates from ancient Greek rhetoric where 'emphasis' meant implied meaning. In modern English, it denotes special importance or stress given to something in speech or writing.