EMPHASIZE Synonyms: 57 Similar and Opposite Words

emphasize

verb

ˈem(p)-fə-ˌsīz

Definition of emphasize

as in to highlight

to indicate the importance of by centering attention on supermarket tabloids that emphasize sensational news stories

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to reinforce

to make more apparent that huge belt buckle only emphasizes his big gut

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of emphasize McKellen paid tribute to Stewart’s Yorkshire origins, emphasizing how proud Stewart was of his heritage. — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026 In Iramavataram, Kambar’s 12th-century Tamil retelling of the Ramayana, Rama’s divine nature is emphasized more strongly than in Valmiki’s version. — Tamanna Nangia, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026 Troy Jackson, her Democratic challenger, emphasized that the fund comes nowhere close to covering what Mainers stand to lose. — Rachel Cohen Booth, Vox, 30 Oct. 2026 Skidmore managing partner Adam Semel emphasized in an interview with the Tribune that the concept was not a formal project, and that SOM itself had not pitched any such project to local officials. — Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 29 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for emphasize

Recent Examples of Synonyms for emphasize

Verb

The experience highlighted a central problem in warship procurement; selecting an existing design does not necessarily guarantee faster or cheaper construction if the customer substantially changes its architecture.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 29 Oct. 2026
Indiana University School of Medicine virologist Natasha Tilston-Lunel highlights the Oropouche cases, but notes that the Schmallenberg virus, which is closely related to Shamonda, has been found to be widespread in livestock but not humans.

— Sahas Mehra, Scientific American, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of highlight

Verb

The event reinforces our commitment to building a strong, collaborative supply chain that delivers economic growth, innovation and long-term maritime capability in both nations.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 29 Oct. 2026
People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese communist party’s central committee, reinforced the criticism through its online commentary platform Renmin Ruiping.

— Matthew Tan, CNBC, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of reinforce

Verb

Harop-like kamikaze suicide drones capable of precision military strikes could soon become one of North Korea’s latest additions to its growing arsenal of advanced unmanned weapons, underscoring the apparent expansion of its strike capabilities.

— Muskan Bhatia, Interesting Engineering, 1 Nov. 2026
The inaugural flight was operated by an all-Haitian, Creole-speaking crew, underscoring the Haitian community’s growth both in the United States, and within American Airlines.

— Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 1 Nov. 2026

Definition of underscore

Verb

Anthropic stressed that researchers deliberately fine-tuned these models for testing.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 31 Oct. 2026
Organizers focused on election protection efforts stress that the goal is to ensure every voter casts their vote and the person who gets the most votes is declared the winner — all regardless of political party.

— Justine McDaniel, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of stress

Verb

Throughout history, some were commissioned to enhance the interiors with their signature flair while others bartered their artwork for breaks on daily rates and others simply just thrived off the scene.

— Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 24 Oct. 2026
Each picture mode offers essentially the same rich set of options, except for AI-enhanced, which locks you out of some settings (including local contrast and color tuner), presumably because the AI logic is handling those.

— M. David Stone, PC Magazine, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of enhance

Verb

The latest Netflix call underlined the growth in terms of viewers of content coming from non-English language countries.

— Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026
Hieronimus underlined the professional hair market continues accelerating from 2025, and that L’Oréal’s Professional Products division has been growing twice the speed of that.

— Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of underline

Verb

But North Korea’s deepening military ties with Russia since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine have led analysts to question whether Pyongyang is becoming less reliant on Beijing.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
Residents of the southern Ukrainian ⁠town, occupied by Russian forces since February 2022, have reported a deepening food crisis.

— Reuters, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of deepen

Browse Nearby Words

emphasis

emphasize

emphasized

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Emphasize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/emphasize. Accessed 3 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of emphasize

verb

Example Sentences

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