emphatic

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

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

See emphatic defined for English-language learners

See emphatic defined for kids

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 contrast between the moralistic and the open-minded that Caro addresses in the memory sequences simply hasn’t the oomph of the adults’ folly, with its ridiculously emphatic rejection of sentiment.

— sheri linden, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Tales of an Immoral Couple': Film Review," 26 Aug. 2017
Margie Canfield said Rucker was particularly emphatic about her granddaughter not going to church during the exchange.

— hunter woodall, kansascity, "In trial, employee from Kobach’s office says she was fired for not going to church," 22 Aug. 2017
Jones answered with an emphatic yes, encouraging writers to demand payment for their work and take responsibility for acquiring basic business acumen.

— agatha french, latimes.com, "Money talk for writers and other creatives with 90X90LA," 3 Aug. 2017
Ohio's Democratic senator, Sherrod Brown, was more emphatic about Trump's decision.

— deirdre shesgreen, Cincinnati.com, "GOP Ohio Sen. Rob Portman 'confused' by Trump's transgender order," 26 July 2017
Despite challenges in tuning the edgy harmonics, this was a brilliant rendition, shrill trills gilding the line, the strings chasing the piano’s statement and ending altogether with an emphatic punctuation.

— by libby hanssen, kansascity, "Summerfest impresses with brilliant colors, subtle hues of the 20th century.," 16 July 2017
After an emphatic 13-0 victory over Boca Raton Monday night in Boynton Beach, the squad of 11- and 12-year-olds assured themselves at least one more tournament stop on the road to Williamsport, Pa. and the Little League World Series.

— rick menning, Sun-Sentinel.com, "West Boynton Beach Little League All-Stars surge to District 7 Major Division title," 11 July 2017
With Jay going full-on mortal with 4:44, the response to the album has been nothing short of emphatic.

— jason lipshutz, Billboard, "Will JAY-Z's '4:44' Finally Give Him an Album of the Year Grammys Nomination?," 1 July 2017
Despite the emphatic score line, Germany goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen was kept busy.

— rob harris, courant.com, "Experimental Germany beats Mexico 4-1 to reach Confed final," 29 June 2017

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.