What does emphasize mean?
Word: Emphasize
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Emphasize means to give special importance to something, or to say a word with extra force so that people notice it.
Synonyms: stress, highlight, underline, accentuate
Antonyms: understate
How do you spell emphasize?
Syllables: em - pha - size
Tricky part: The f sound is spelt ph, as in phone, and the vowel after it is a: emphesize is a common slip.
Watch out for: emfasize, emphesize, emphacize
Memory tip: Draw a little phone beside the word: the ph of phone gives the f sound of emphasize.
Emphasize in a sentence
Example 1: Our coach likes to emphasize that warming up prevents injuries.
Example 2: Use a highlighter to emphasize the key dates in your history notes.
Example 3: The doctor wanted to emphasize the need for eight hours of sleep.
Fun Fact
Emphasis, the noun behind this verb, was borrowed from Greek, where it meant an outward show or appearance.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the word opposite in meaning to emphasize as used in the sentence:
In her talk on road safety, the inspector chose to emphasize the danger of riding without a helmet.
a) spotlight
b) repeat
c) downplay
d) amplify
Show answer
c) downplay. To emphasize something is to make it stand out; to downplay it is to make it seem less important.
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters:
emphas_z_
a) e, e
b) y, e
c) i, e
d) i, a
Show answer
c) i, e. The ending is ize, the same as in realize and organize.
Mingle-Mangle
The jumbled letters in the sentence hide a word. Choose it.
Good writers use short sentences to zhpeaimes an important point.
a) emphasize
b) emphasis
c) empathize
d) emphatic
Show answer
a) emphasize. Only emphasize uses the s and the z together; empathize needs a t, and emphasis has no z.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. How could you emphasize a word in your written notes?
a) rubbing it out
b) putting it in small print
c) printing it in bold type
d) writing it in faint pencil
Show answer
c) printing it in bold type
2. When you emphasize a word while speaking, you ____.
a) skip over it quickly
b) make it stand out with your voice
c) drop your voice to a whisper
d) spell it out letter by letter
Show answer
b) make it stand out with your voice
