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

But Keegan Bradley's dramatic win at the Travelers Championship earned him a rare and emphatic nod. —Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 June 2025

Four years ago, when The Athletic asked this precise question of Chelsea fans on X, the answer was emphatic, with Tottenham Hotspur garnering 58.6 per cent of the vote. —Liam Twomey, New York Times, 9 June 2025

Kevin King, the president and CEO of Donatos Pizza, based in Columbus, Ohio, is emphatic that the pizza prepared by the robot tastes exactly the same as those made by hand by its pizza makers. —Gary Stern, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025

Albritton, who is emphatic about his faith, generally supports Hope Florida. —Alexandra Glorioso, Miami Herald, 4 June 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