emphatic

adjective

em·​phat·​ic im-ˈfa-tik 

em-

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

emphatically

im-ˈfa-ti-k(ə-)lē 

em-

adverb

Synonyms

• aggressive
• vigorous
• violent
• forceful
• dynamic
• insistent
• energetic

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

Świątek, currently ranked No. 4 in the world, reached the final in a series of emphatic victories. —Grace Jordan-Weinstein, People.com, 12 July 2025

Two seasons have passed in a blur of stomping channel runs and emphatic finishes, with the 27-year-old racking up 97 goals in just over 8,400 minutes — the equivalent of 93 full games. —Thom Harris, New York Times, 7 July 2025

Djo skates between falsetto and mellow, talky vocals with moments of funky, emphatic annunciation. —airmail.news, 5 July 2025

This opinion appeared here three years ago and was swarmed with a barrage of emphatic and mostly emotional arguments for Koufax. —Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French & Late Latin; French emphatique "forcefully expressive," going back to Middle French, borrowed from Late Latin emphaticus, borrowed from Greek emphatikós "expressive, indicative," from empha-, stem in noun derivation of emphaínein "to exhibit, display, indicate" + -t-, verbal adjective formative + -ikos -ic entry 1 — more at emphasis

First Known Use

1602, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for emphatic

• asthmatic
• chromatic
• climatic
• dogmatic
• dramatic
• ecstatic
• erratic
• eustatic
• fanatic
• hepatic
• lymphatic
• magmatic

Kids Definition

emphatic

adjective

em·​phat·​ic im-ˈfat-ik 

em-

1

: uttered with or marked by emphasis

2

: tending to express oneself in forceful speech or action

3

: attracting special attention

an emphatic design

emphatically

-ˈfat-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb