emphatic

adjective

em·​phat·​ic im-ˈfa-tik How to pronounce emphatic (audio)
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 adverb

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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 See All Example Sentences for emphatic

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of emphatic was in 1602

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Emphatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emphatic. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

emphatic

adjective
em·​phat·​ic im-ˈfat-ik How to pronounce emphatic (audio)
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 adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on emphatic

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!