ˈem(p)fəsə̇s noun
( plural empha·ses -fəˌsēz)
Etymology: Latin, from Greek, exposition, significance, implied meaning, from emphainein to exhibit, display, indicate (from em- en- (II) + phainein to show) + -sis — more at fancy
1.
a. : a forcefulness of expression that gives special impressiveness, calls to special attention, or gives special significance
writing with commendable emphasis on the need for reform
b. : a particular prominence given in reading or speaking to one or more words or syllables (as by voice stress or pitch) to attract attention to or focus attention on their special emotional or logical importance (as when words or the things they represent are contrasted)
the speaker's emphasis was on the word conciliation
c. : stress or relative importance given to a certain part or feature of a literary work (as by its prominent position in the whole or its fullness of presentation)
the biography gave considerable emphasis to his early life
2. obsolete : an implied meaning in a word
3.
a. : special consideration of or stress or insistence upon something
his father's emphasis had always been on discipline
the emphasis of the campaign was to be on the elimination of graft
he disliked the school's emphasis on classics — Current Biography
the first congress at which special emphasis is laid on tropical forestry — Hilary Phillips
b. : something given such emphasis
good citizenship, another chief emphasis in the Camp Fire program — Collier's Year Book
4. : prominence , distinctness , vividness
the altering of the colors in the painting caused the main figure to lose all emphasis