emphasize
/ˈɛmfəsʌɪz
/(also emphasise)
verb [with object]
1Give special importance or value to (something) in speaking or writing: they emphasize the need for daily, one-to-one contact between parent and child [with clause]: I would emphasize that I am not an economist...
- Yet it is important to emphasize that liberalism did not disappear.
- It is important to emphasize that dementia is a syndrome and not a disease.
- Each speaker emphasized that business, government and the media all must learn how to function in crisis mode.
Synonyms
bring/call/draw attention to, focus attention on, highlight, point up, spotlight, foreground, play up, make a point of;
stress, weight, put/lay stress on, give an emphasis to, give prominence to, bring to the fore;
dwell on, harp on, insist on, belabour;
accent, accentuate, underline, intensify, strengthen, heighten, deepen, italicize, underscore, prioritize
informal press home, rub it in
2Lay stress on (a word or phrase) when speaking: his father emphasized the wrong words in his sentence...
- I said that slowly, emphasizing each and every word.
- The lack of response prompted the creature to repeat his words, emphasizing each as he screamed them at the man he had once cared for as deeply as a brother.
- She read each report out loud, emphasizing each and every word.
Synonyms
stress, put the stress/accent/force on, accent, accentuate, weight
3Make (something) more clearly defined: a hip-length jacket which emphasized her shape...
- Michael stood up straight, making sure to emphasize his height and build… just in case.
- A shorter jacket will emphasize your height as well as your skinny waist, arms and legs.
- By placing the code which defines the work before the work itself, it emphasizes the link between computational and conceptual art.