1 emphatic | Definition of emphatic

emphatic

adjective
em·​phat·​ic | \ im-ˈfa-tik How to pronounce emphatic (audio) , em-\

Definition of emphatic

1 : uttered with or marked by emphasis an emphatic refusal
2 : tending to express oneself in forceful speech or to take decisive action
3 : attracting special attention
4 : constituting or belonging to a set of tense forms in English consisting of the auxiliary do followed by an infinitive without to that are used to facilitate rhetorical inversion or to emphasize something

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Other Words from emphatic

emphatically \ im-​ˈfa-​ti-​k(É™-​)lÄ“ How to pronounce emphatically (audio) , em-​ \ adverb

Examples of emphatic in a Sentence

They were emphatic about their political differences. the governor issued an emphatic denial of all charges

Recent Examples on the Web

This time one of the Cowboys put an emphatic end to his end to his one-man party. 2. Gary Peterson, The Mercury News, "Antonio Brown’s spat with Mike Mayock reminds of T.O., Sprewell, other Bay Area infights," 5 Sep. 2019 The Tigers ended the year with an emphatic 44-16 win over Alabama in the College Football Playoff national-championship game, leaving the Crimson Tide shocked and a little bitter heading into the new season. Chaunte'l Powell, orlandosentinel.com, "2019 College Football Rankings: No. 2 Clemson pushes for return to playoff title game," 22 Aug. 2019 The emphatic reactions were posted both on Instagram and Twitter. Allie Gemmill, Teen Vogue, "Emma Watson and Tom Felton Had a "Harry Potter" Reunion Plus Guitar Lessons," 20 Aug. 2019 Kathy Patrick [emphatic]: No. Peter Van Sant: -- your romantic advances. Kathy Patrick: No! Peter Van Sant, CBS News, "Is justice out of reach for an American teacher murdered in South Korea?," 10 Aug. 2019 Nielsen wasn’t making a clear play on the ball, but no call was awarded from the officials despite emphatic protests from Heath, Lindsey Horan and the Portland sideline. Tim Brown, oregonlive.com, "Portland Thorns fall 1-0 to Reign FC in hard-fought Cascadia rivalry game," 7 Aug. 2019 In his first season as a pro, Bridges put opponents on notice with his emphatic dunks. Jake Gourwitz, Detroit Free Press, "Meet the 20 Michiganders playing in NBA summer league," 11 July 2019 Castillo was emphatic about formalizing coordination efforts between city and county services and admonished officials for meeting only informally and only for an hour every month. Elaine Ayala, ExpressNews.com, "Domestic violence town hall laid bare the enormity of San Antonio’s problem," 4 July 2019 And a quiet but emphatic sovereignty movement persists as a steady undercurrent throughout the Native Hawaiian community. Noelle Swan, The Christian Science Monitor, "Whose independence? Why some Native Hawaiians don’t celebrate on July 4.," 2 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'emphatic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of emphatic

1602, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for emphatic

Greek emphatikos, from emphainein

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More Definitions for emphatic

emphatic

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of emphatic

: said or done in a forceful or definite way
: speaking or acting in a forceful way

emphatic

adjective
em·​phat·​ic | \ im-ˈfa-tik How to pronounce emphatic (audio) \

Kids Definition of emphatic

: spoken or done forcefully She shook her head in emphatic refusal.

Other Words from emphatic

emphatically adverb

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More from Merriam-Webster on emphatic

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with emphatic

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for emphatic

Spanish Central: Translation of emphatic

Nglish: Translation of emphatic for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of emphatic for Arabic Speakers