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emphasis

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 sec.
em·pha·sis  (mf-ss)
n. pl. em·pha·ses (-sz)
1. Special forcefulness of expression that gives importance to something singled out; stress: a lecture on housekeeping with emphasis on neatness; paused for emphasis, then announced the winner's name.
2. Special attention or effort directed toward something: a small-town newspaper's emphasis on local affairs.
3. Prominence given to a syllable, word, or words, as by raising the voice or printing in italic type.

[Latin, from Greek, from emphainein, to exhibit, display : en-, in; see en-2 + phainein, to show; see bh-1 in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: emphasis, accent, stress
These nouns mean special weight placed on something considered important: an education with an emphasis on science; will study music with an accent on jazz; laid heavy stress on law and order.

emphasis
Noun
pl -ses
1. special importance or significance given to something, such as an object or idea
2. stress on a particular syllable, word, or phrase in speaking [Greek]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.emphasisemphasis - special importance or significance; "the red light gave the central figure increased emphasis"; "the room was decorated in shades of grey with distinctive red accents"
grandness, importance - a prominent status; "a person of importance"
stress, focus - special emphasis attached to something; "the stress was more on accuracy than on speed"
2.emphasisemphasis - intensity or forcefulness of expression; "the vehemence of his denial"; "his emphasis on civil rights"
intensiveness, intensity - high level or degree; the property of being intense
overemphasis - too much emphasis
3.emphasis - special and significant stress by means of position or repetition e.g.
topicalization - (linguistics) emphasis placed on the topic or focus of a sentence by preposing it to the beginning of the sentence; placing the topic at the beginning of the sentence is typical for English; "`Those girls, they giggle when they see me' and `Cigarettes, you couldn't pay me to smoke them' are examples of topicalization"
rhetorical device - a use of language that creates a literary effect (but often without regard for literal significance)
4.emphasis - the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch); "he put the stress on the wrong syllable"
prosody, inflection - the patterns of stress and intonation in a language
accentuation - the use or application of an accent; the relative prominence of syllables in a phrase or utterance
pitch accent, tonic accent - emphasis that results from pitch rather than loudness
word accent, word stress - the distribution of stresses within a polysyllabic word
sentence stress - the distribution of stresses within a sentence

emphasis
Translations
Spanish emphasis [pl emphases] [ˈɛmfəsɪs, -siːz] nénfasis m inv [to lay or place emphasis on sth] (fig) → hacer hincapié en algo;
the emphasis is on sport → se da mayor importancia al deporte

French emphasis [-ases , pl ] [ˈɛmfəsɪs, -siːz] naccent m;
to lay or place emphasis on sth (fig) → mettre l'accent sur, insister sur;
the emphasis is on reading → la lecture tient une place primordiale, on accorde une importance particulière à la lecture

German emphasis [ˈɛmfəsɪs] [emphases , pl ] nBetonung f;
(importance) → (Schwer)gewicht nt;
to lay or place emphasis on sth → etw betonen;
the emphasis is on reading → das Schwergewicht liegt auf dem Lesen

Italian emphasis [pl emphases] [ˈɛmfəsɪs, -siːz] nenfasi f inv; importanza;
to lay or place emphasis on sth (fig) → mettere in risalto or in evidenza qc;
the emphasis is on sport → si dà molta importanza allo sport

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The emphasis was helped by the speaker's square wall of a forehead, which had his eyebrows for its base, while his eyes found commodious cellarage in two dark caves, overshadowed by the wall.
But with secondary characters the principles of emphasis and proportion generally forbid very distinct individualization; and sometimes, especially in comedy
He nodded gravely, and added with awful emphasis - 'I thought it incumbent upon me to do so.
 
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