# emphatic

/ɛmˈfætɪk/ (US) · /ɛmfˈætɪk/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/emphatic
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. forceful or strong

adjective · CEFR B2

done or said in a strong way to show that you are very sure about something.

For teachers: expressing something with particular emphasis or force to show conviction.

- The manager gave an emphatic 'no' when asked if the deadline could be moved.
- The prime minister issued an emphatic denial of the allegations, insisting that the reports were entirely fabricated by political opponents.

### 2. a clear win

adjective · CEFR B2

describing a victory that is very clear and leaves no doubt who won.

For teachers: denoting a victory or result that is decisive and beyond dispute.

- The team had an emphatic 5-0 win in the final match of the season.
- After a series of narrow losses, the challenger secured an emphatic victory that silenced his critics and cemented his ranking.

### 3. grammar: using 'do' for stress

adjective · CEFR C1 · Technical

using the word 'do' or 'did' to make a statement stronger, like saying 'I do like it'.

For teachers: relating to the use of the auxiliary 'do' to provide contrastive or emotive emphasis in an affirmative statement.

- In the sentence 'I did finish my homework', the word 'did' is emphatic.
- The teacher explained that the emphatic mood is often employed to contradict a previous negative assumption made by the listener.

### 4. linguistics: guttural sounds

adjective · CEFR C2 · Technical

describing a special way of saying certain sounds in languages like Arabic.

For teachers: referring to a class of obstruent consonants in Afro-Asiatic languages characterized by a guttural co-articulation.

- Arabic has several emphatic consonants that are produced deep in the throat.
- The researcher analyzed the acoustic properties of emphatic consonants in various Semitic dialects to track phonetic shifts over time.

### 5. a word used for emphasis

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a word or phrase, like 'really' or 'very', that makes another word stronger.

For teachers: a lexical item or grammatical marker used to add emphasis to a statement or a specific constituent.

- In the phrase 'really big', the word 'really' acts as an emphatic.
- The linguist noted that the speaker used multiple emphatics to compensate for a lack of descriptive adjectives in the narrative.

## Examples

- She gave an emphatic 'no' to the proposal.
- The team secured an emphatic victory, winning the final match by five goals to zero.
- Despite the mounting pressure from the board, the CEO issued an emphatic denial of the merger rumours, insisting that the company would remain independent.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.