emphatic

adjective em·phat·ic \ im-ˈfa-tik , em- \

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

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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emphatically

play \im-ˈfa-ti-k(ə-)lē, em-\ adverb

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Examples of emphatic in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of emphatic from the Web

The harmonies are chafed raw, the vocal writing disjointed and emphatic; this is music that deliberately makes little use of Brownlee’s gift for elegant phrasing.

— joshua kosman, San Francisco Chronicle, "Brownlee unveils a new song cycle on themes of race and hope," 1 Apr. 2018
The other thing is that the court was pretty emphatic in its decision that any kind of item veto would have to be granted through constitutional amendment, so that by itself pretty much slams the door on Mnuchin’s speculation.

— aaron blake, Washington Post, "Trump has a secret plan to evade the Constitution and create a line-item veto, apparently," 26 Mar. 2018
Early indications from inside the organization suggest that answer is an emphatic no.

— stephen holder, Indianapolis Star, "Colts on the hunt for wide receivers at NFL Combine," 4 Mar. 2018
Jonathan nodded an emphatic yes and thanked Rebecca for taking the pressure off.

— hilary jacobs hendel, Time, "How Couples Can Do Valentine’s Day Without the Pressure," 13 Feb. 2018
And Lue remains emphatic in his belief the Cavs can (will?) achieve them.

— joe vardon, cleveland.com, "LeBron James and Tyronn Lue agree on Cavaliers' goals, but not necessarily on current state of the team," 17 Jan. 2018
Ribery then made sure of the three points on 59 minutes in emphatic style.

— afp, chicagotribune.com, "Bundesliga Recap: Bayern win in Leverkusen, extend lead to 14," 12 Jan. 2018
In Wild, Wild Country, Sheela is emphatic about the Rajneesh organization’s need for money after the ashram was established in Pune.

— win mccormack, The New Republic, "Outside the Limits of the Human Imagination," 27 Mar. 2018
Williams’ dunk, too, was an emphatic message that the Aggies have own no intentions of easing quietly into the Carolina night.

— brent zwerneman, San Antonio Express-News, "Williams dunks Texas A&M past Providence," 16 Mar. 2018

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.