emphasise

emphasise — verb

1. to give special importance to something when you speak or write, so that other p

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to give special importance to something when you speak or write, so that other people understand it matters and should be taken seriously

Example

During the staff meeting, Cyrus emphasised the need for better planning before the busy season.

emphasise + noun phrase: the need for [something]

The report emphasises that rising sea levels are already affecting coastal communities around the world.

emphasise + that-clause for stating an important fact

Common collocations
  • emphasise the importance of
  • emphasise the need for
  • emphasise the role of
  • emphasise the value of
  • emphasise that
  • emphasise repeatedly
  • emphasise strongly
Synonyms
  • stress

    more common in everyday spoken English; slightly less formal

  • highlight

    focuses on drawing attention to a detail rather than declaring it important

  • underline

    suggests reinforcing a point that has already been made

  • accentuate

    more formal and usually physical; overlaps more with sense 2

Antonyms
  • play down

    to try to make something seem less important

  • understate

    to describe something as less important than it really is

Grammar Patterns

emphasise + noun phrase

emphasise + that-clause

emphasise + the importance/need/value of + noun

Usage Note

Common in academic writing and formal speech. Frequently paired with nouns such as ‘importance’, ‘need’, ‘value’, or ‘role’. The passive form ‘it should / must be emphasised that…’ is a standard rhetorical device in essays and reports.

Common Mistakes

He emphasised the importance.
He emphasised the importance of careful planning.
When ‘importance’ is the object, add ‘of’ plus what is important.
She emphasised him to finish on time.
She emphasised that he needed to finish on time.
‘emphasise’ cannot take an infinitive object; use a that-clause or rephrase.
They emphasised on the need for change.
They emphasised the need for change.
‘emphasise’ is transitive and does not need a preposition after it.

2. to make a particular feature or part of something more noticeable, often through

2.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to make a particular feature or part of something more noticeable, often through design, colour, sound, or physical contrast

Example

Folake wore a simple black dress that emphasised her elegant posture.

clothing + physical feature pattern

The gold frame emphasises the warm red tones in the painting.

Common collocations
  • emphasise the shape of
  • emphasise the colour of
  • emphasised by contrast
  • emphasised by the lighting
Synonyms
  • accentuate

    very similar, slightly more formal; common in fashion and design

  • highlight

    can refer to physical features but also abstract points; less specific to this sense

  • throw into relief

    idiomatic; suggests contrast makes something stand out

Antonyms
  • disguise

    to hide or make less noticeable

  • conceal

    to keep something from being seen

Grammar Patterns

emphasise + noun

be emphasised by + noun

noun + emphasise + noun

Usage Note

This sense is about physical or sensory perception — colour, shape, sound, silence, behaviour — rather than argument or opinion. It is often used with an inanimate subject. ‘The dress emphasised her figure’ is fine; ‘The manager emphasised her figure’ would shift to sense 1.

Common Mistakes

The speech emphasised the problem of poverty.’ (if you mean make it visible)
The speech highlighted the problem of poverty.
This sense is for physical / sensory features, not arguments. For arguments, use sense 1.

Word family

  • emphasis
    nounB2
  • emphatic
    adjectiveB2
  • emphatically
    adverbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

These five verbs all mean ‘to give importance to something’, but they differ in register and scope. ‘Emphasise’ (B2) is the most general and neutral — you can use it in writing, speaking, formal or semi-formal contexts. ‘Stress’ (B2) feels more conversational; people stress a point in a meeting or a chat. ‘Highlight’ (B2) focuses on singling out one detail from a larger picture, often in presentations or reports (‘the graph highlights the rise in sales’). ‘Underline’ (B2) originally comes from writing (underlining a word) and today suggests reinforcing an existing point rather than introducing a new one. ‘Accentuate’ (C1) is more formal and overlaps with sense 2 (physical features). In practice: ‘The minister emphasised the need for reform’ (formal, general), ‘She stressed that everyone should arrive on time’ (spoken, direct), ‘The table highlights the difference between the two models’ (presentation context), ‘The incident underlines the importance of safety training’ (reinforcement).

emphasise ↗stress ↗highlight ↗underline ↗accentuate

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • it cannot be emphasised enough that
  • it should be emphasised that
  • worth emphasising that

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

From Greek ‘emphainein’ (to show, to indicate) — a combination of ‘en’ (in) and ‘phainein’ (to show). Latin adopted it as ‘emphasis’ (a striking appearance), and French passed it into English in the 1500s as ‘emphasis’ (a rhetorical device). The verb form ‘emphasise’ appeared in the 1800s. The British spelling —ise— follows the French suffix, while the American —ize— follows the Greek root.