Definitions for emphasis
ˈɛm fə sɪs; -ˌsizem·pha·sis

Princeton's WordNet(4.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. emphasis, accent(noun)

   special importance or significance

   "the red light gave the central figure increased emphasis"; "the room was decorated in shades of grey with distinctive red accents"

2. vehemence, emphasis(noun)

   intensity or forcefulness of expression

   "the vehemence of his denial"; "his emphasis on civil rights"

3. emphasis(noun)

   special and significant stress by means of position or repetition e.g.

4. stress, emphasis, accent(noun)

   the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch)

   "he put the stress on the wrong syllable"

GCIDE(3.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. emphasis(n.)

   a special attention given to, or extra importance attached to, something; as, a guided tour of Egypt with emphasis on the monuments along the Nile.

   Etymology: [L., fr. Gr. 'e`mfasis significance, force of expression, fr. 'emfai`nein to show in, indicate; 'en in + fai`nein to show. See In, and Phase.]

2. emphasis(n.)

   something to which great importance is attached; as, the need for increased spending on education was the emphasis of his speech.

   Etymology: [L., fr. Gr. 'e`mfasis significance, force of expression, fr. 'emfai`nein to show in, indicate; 'en in + fai`nein to show. See In, and Phase.]

Wiktionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. emphasis(Noun)

   Special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important.

   He paused for emphasis before saying who had won.

2. emphasis(Noun)

   Special attention or prominence given to something.

   Anglia TV's emphasis is on Norwich and district.

3. emphasis(Noun)

   Prominence given to a syllable or words, by raising the voice or printing in italic or underlined type.

   He used a yellow highlighter to indicate where to give emphasis in his speech.

4. emphasis(Noun)

   Related to bold.

Webster Dictionary(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Emphasis(noun)

   a particular stress of utterance, or force of voice, given in reading and speaking to one or more words whose signification the speaker intends to impress specially upon his audience

   Etymology: [L., fr. Gr. 'e`mfasis significance, force of expression, fr. 'emfai`nein to show in, indicate; 'en in + fai`nein to show. See In, and Phase.]

2. Emphasis(noun)

   a peculiar impressiveness of expression or weight of thought; vivid representation, enforcing assent; as, to dwell on a subject with great emphasis

   Etymology: [L., fr. Gr. 'e`mfasis significance, force of expression, fr. 'emfai`nein to show in, indicate; 'en in + fai`nein to show. See In, and Phase.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Emphasis

   In typography, emphasis is the exaggeration of words in a text with a font in a different style from the rest of the text—to emphasize them.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Emphasis

   em′fa-sis, n. stress of the voice on particular words or syllables to make the meaning clear: impressiveness of expression or weight of thought: intensity:—pl. Em′phases (-sēz).—v.t. Em′phasīse, to make emphatic.—adjs. Emphat′ic, -al, uttered with or requiring emphasis: forcible: impressive.—adv. Emphat′ically.—n. Emphat′icalness. [L.,—Gr.,—em (=en), in, into, and phasis—phaein, phainein, to show.]

The Roycroft Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. emphasis

   To italicize a lie; to lay great stress on certain sounds that emanate from a larynx and that are intended to hypnotize a tympanum; to be impressive to the point of almost believing ourselves; the double chin of a declarative sentence; oratorical moth-balls.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'emphasis' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1861

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'emphasis' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3690

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'emphasis' in Nouns Frequency: #857

Anagrams for emphasis »

1. misshape

How to pronounce emphasis?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say emphasis in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of emphasis in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of emphasis in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of emphasis in a Sentence

1. Barack Obama:

   Throughout this process, our emphasis has been on the facts, so we want to make sure that given that this is a powerful tool to isolate those countries that genuinely do support terrorism, that when we make those designations we've got strong evidence that, in fact, that's the case.

2. Erin Lash:

   The overwhelming emphasis on taking costs out and improving margins has come at the expense of the company's long-term health.

3. James Brown:

   The economy is changing with an emphasis on technology skills across all sectors. The emphasis now is that not all STEM jobs require four-year degrees. When I was growing up, you had what were called ‘blue collar jobs,’ now you have technicians who need to be highly skilled in tech. You need people who can repair MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machines, or work on electric cars, you now need technicians who need to have really hard STEM skills. That’s a skill set that will be growing over the next five years, it will be more in demand, and giving students the foundation for those kinds of careers starts in school.

4. Ann Shumpert:

   I think not having the major contender here has allowed the other candidates to really shine, because the emphasis was on what they have to say, which is being undermined by the theatrics of the debates.

5. Peter Kokkinos:

   The emphasis should be placed on relatively longer exercise duration and moderate intensity, like a brisk walk, especially for older individuals, this approach carries a lower risk of injury.

Images & Illustrations of emphasis

Popularity rank by frequency of use