Emphasise

How to spell emphasise

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce emphasise

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does emphasise mean?

1. verbTo give special importance or prominence to something in speech or writing.

Emphasise in a sentence

• The trainer wanted to emphasise the safety rules before the shift began.

• Good cover letters emphasise the skills that match the advertised role.

Where does emphasise come from?

Language of origin: Greek

The word traces back to the Greek emphasis, which literally meant 'an appearing within' or 'an outward show', built from the prefix en, meaning 'in', and phainein, meaning 'to show' or 'to bring to light'. In classical rhetoric emphasis described a way of hinting at more than the bare words actually said, a suggestive showing through the surface of a phrase. Latin took the noun over as emphasis, and English adopted it in the sixteenth century, at first as a term of rhetoric before it widened to mean stress laid on a word or idea. The verb emphasise was then formed on the English noun by adding the productive -ise ending, giving the sense 'to give prominence to'. The same phainein root that supplies the silent-feeling 'phas' here also lies behind 'phase', 'phenomenon' and 'phantom', all words about things showing or appearing, and remembering that 'ph' spells the f-sound is the chief spelling trap.

How the word is built

• em- (in, from Greek en)
• phas (from phainein/phasis: to show, appearance)
• -ise (verb-forming suffix)

British and American spelling

Emphasise is the British spelling. American English spells it emphasize.