Basic Details
Word: Emphasizing
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Giving special importance to something, or saying it with extra force so that it stands out.
Synonyms: stressing, highlighting, underlining
Antonyms: downplaying, understating
How to Spell Emphasizing
Syllables: em - pha - siz - ing
Tricky part: The e at the end of emphasize disappears before ing, so there is no e between z and ing. The f sound is still spelt ph.
Watch out for: emphasizeing, emfasizing, emphesizing, emphacizing
Memory tip: Treat it like smile and smiling: the silent e at the end of emphasize steps aside when ing arrives.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Posters around the hospital keep emphasizing hand-washing.
Example 2: By emphasizing the word 'never', the actor made the line sound angry.
Example 3: She ended her letter by emphasizing how much she missed her friends.
Fun Fact
Printers often use italics to emphasize a word. When editors mark up a handwritten or typed page, a single underline is the old sign that a word should be set in italics.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
emphasizeing
a) h
b) e
c) i
d) z
Show answer
b) e. The e at the end of emphasize drops out before ing.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to emphasizing in this sentence:
Throughout the match, the commentator kept emphasizing how young the bowler was.
a) hiding
b) doubting
c) ignoring
d) stressing
Show answer
d) stressing. Emphasizing means drawing attention to something, which is what stressing does.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. realiseing 2. emphasizing 3. critisizing 4. apologyzing
a) saying sorry
b) giving special importance to something
c) becoming aware of something
d) pointing out faults
Show answer
b) giving special importance to something. Only emphasizing is right; the others should be criticizing, realizing and apologizing (each also spelt with s in British English).
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A speaker who is emphasizing a point might ____.
a) mumble it under their breath
b) forget it halfway through
c) skip over it quickly
d) repeat it slowly and clearly
Show answer
d) repeat it slowly and clearly
2. Underlining a word in your notes is one way of ____ it.
a) translating
b) emphasizing
c) erasing
d) hiding
Show answer
b) emphasizing
