What does emphasised mean?
"Emphasised" is the British English past tense and past participle of the verb "emphasise," meaning to give particular prominence, importance, or stress to something. When a speaker or writer emphasised a point, they singled it out for attention — through repetition, vocal stress, or explicit statement. The word also extends to visual contexts, describing text or elements that have been made to stand out through formatting such as italics or bold type. Derived from the Greek emphasis, meaning significance or implied meaning, the term entered English via Latin in the sixteenth century and has long been central to rhetoric and communication. It carries no strong emotional connotation and suits formal and neutral registers alike, appearing frequently in journalism, academic writing, and everyday discussion of priorities. Its American counterpart, spelled with a z, means precisely the same thing.
Past tense of "emphasise": gave special importance, attention, or stress to something.
"The minister emphasised that no decision had yet been reached."
Past participle of "emphasise", used in perfect tenses and passives: having been given special importance or stress.
"Safety procedures were emphasised during the training session."
In passive constructions, the British spelling "emphasised" pairs with "was/were/been" (e.g. "was emphasised").
Describing something given visual or verbal prominence, especially text set in italic or bold type for stress.
"The emphasised words in the passage signalled the author's main argument."
The word traces back to Greek emphasis, meaning 'significance' or 'indirect implication' — literally what 'shows within' a statement rather than what it says outright.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of emphasised
"Emphasised" derives from "emphasise," formed from the noun "emphasis," which entered English in the sixteenth century from Latin emphasis, itself borrowed from Greek emphasis meaning 'significance' or 'indirect implication,' from emphainein, 'to show' or 'indicate.' The verb form developed later, with the -ise suffix marking it as a verb. Cognates and relatives include "emphatic" and "epigram," all rooted in the same Greek stem relating to showing or displaying.
Related word forms
How emphasised is actually used
"Emphasised" is the standard British spelling of the American "emphasized." As an inflected verb form, it functions as either a finite past-tense verb or a past participle used in perfect constructions and passive voice ("the point was emphasised"). It appears most often in formal, journalistic, and academic registers.
Easily confused with emphasised
"Emphasised" uses the -s- spelling standard in British English, while "emphasized" with -z- is the American English variant; both mean exactly the same thing.