emphasize

Etymology

It is formed from English emphasis + -ize.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The noun is borrowed from Latin emphasis, from Ancient Greek ἔμφασις (émphasis, “outward appearance, reflection; significance”), from ἐμφαίνω (emphaínō, “to exhibit, display”),^[7][8][3] formed from ἐν (en, “in”) and φαίνω (phaínō, “to show”).^[7][8] The OED compares the earlier verb emphase.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To put stress on a word or syllable in speaking: 1765, in John Rice's Introduction to the Art of Reading.^[2][3][4] Dictionary.com dates the word to 1820–30, and the Shorter Oxford to the early 19th century.^[6][5]

Semantic evolution

The verb began in the teaching of reading aloud, for laying stress on a word or syllable,^[2][3] and in writing for marking such stress with italics or underlining.^[2] From 1793 it was used for drawing attention to a fact or argument to show its importance,^[2] and by 1800 also for adding force to speech or actions.^[2]

Timeline

• 1765 – to stress a word or syllable in speaking.^[2][3][4]
• 1793 – to draw special attention to a fact or argument.^[2]
• 1800 – to add force or intensity to speech or actions.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To give special importance or prominence to something; to stress it: The coach emphasized the need for rest before the final.^[9][4][2]
2. To pronounce a word or syllable with extra stress, or to mark it in writing, as with italics.^[2]
3. To make something stand out more clearly: The dark frame emphasized the brightness of the painting.^[2][5]

Word family

• hyperemphasize
• misemphasize
• overemphasize
• reemphasize
• underemphasize

Related words

• emphasis
• emphatic
• phase
• phantasm

Usage notes

The spelling emphasise is also used, especially in British English.^[4][9][6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins