Definify.com

Webster 1828 Edition


Emphatic

EMPHAT'IC


Definition 2024


emphatic

emphatic

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

emphatic (comparative more emphatic, superlative most emphatic)

  1. Characterized by emphasis; forceful.
    • 2012 June 28, Jamie Jackson, “Wimbledon 2012: Lukas Rosol shocked by miracle win over Rafael Nadal”, in the Guardian:
      Yet when play restarted the Czech was a train that kept on running over Nadal. After breaking Nadal in the opening game of the final set, he went 2-0 up and later took the count to 4-2 with yet another emphatic ace – one of his 22 throughout.
  2. Stated with conviction.
    He gave me an emphatic no when I asked him out.
  3. (grammar) Belonging to a set of English tense forms comprising the auxiliary verb do + an infinitive without to.
  4. (phonology) Belonging to a series of obstruent consonants in several Semitic languages that are distinguished from both voiced and voiceless consonants by a certain phonetic feature or features.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

emphatic (plural emphatics)

  1. (phonology) An emphatic consonant.
  2. (linguistics) A word or phrase adding emphasis, such as "a lot" or "really".

See also

Anagrams