emphatic
/ɛmˈfætɪk/ adjective C1- Characterized by emphasis; forceful.
- Stated with conviction. · He gave me an emphatic no when I asked him out.
- Belonging to a set of English tense forms comprising the auxiliary verb do plus an infinitive without to.
- Relating to an emphatic pronoun, or a noun with an emphatic suffix attached to it. · In Irish, the emphatic form of "mé" is "mise".
- Phrayngealized consonants in Arabic, Hebrew, other Northwest Semitic languages, and Berber languages.
- Ejective consonants in Ge'ez, Amharic, other Ethiopic Semitic languages, Chadic and Cushitic languages.
- Referring to the above consonants as well as /ħ/ and /ʕ/ (these being seen as emphatic equivalents of /h/ and /ʔ/).
From the library
Rachel Lynde’s emphatic comment.
“What can be the meaning of that emphatic exclamation?” cried he.
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