de-emphasis

or de·em·pha·sis

[ dee-em-fuh-sis ]

noun

, plural de-em·pha·ses [dee-, em, -f, uh, -seez].

1. a reduction in emphasis:

   There has been de-emphasis on athletic activities at the school.

2. the act or process of de-emphasizing.
3. Electronics. a process of reducing the relative amplitude of certain frequencies in a signal that have been exaggerated by preemphasis, restoring the signal to its original form.

Word History and Origins

Origin of de-emphasis¹

First recorded in 1935–40; de- + emphasis