emphatically
Britishadverb
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with emphasis or force
-
definitely or unquestionably
Explanation
When you say something emphatically, you say it with great emphasis and force, like when you emphatically denied that you took the last cookie. Emphatically, pronounced "em-FAT-ick-lee," shares the same origin as emphasize, which means "to stress or put particular importance on something." When you say or do something emphatically, you really mean it. For example, if you emphatically say "no" when someone asks you on a date, that person isn't likely to ask you — or even look in your direction — again.
Vocabulary lists containing emphatically
A Christmas Carol
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The Giver
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Wonder
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He emphatically denied the accusations at the time.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026
India banished the ghosts of 2023 by emphatically beating New Zealand by 96 runs in Ahmedabad to defend their T20 World Cup title.
From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026
This is emphatically consistent with the results in other elections in the last year.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026
The Canberra-based side emphatically crushed the defending champions Canterbury Crusaders 50–24 last week to end a losing streak in the New Zealand city that stretched 12 games.
From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026
“No, señor,” she said, shaking her head emphatically and pointing to the dictionary, the sole book to survive the pawning of items after Abuelito fell ill.
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
