emphatic

Question

I simply can't understand the meaning of the word "emphatic". Could you please tell me what it means in the following sentences?

"He gets plainer as he gets on, but not an atom more emphatic or animated."

"Please just tell your mother," he said, in emphatic tones.

"The merest acquaintance would have said momething more emphatic than " I will, thank you; good-by," to such a request.

"He was sufficiently emphatic to inspire me with every caution."

Thank you

Hope

Danyoo · Accepted Answer

First of all, here is the definition from the Cambridge dictionary on emphatic and emphasize just to give you a better feel.

emphatic http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?dict=CALD&key=25410&ph=on
adjective
done or said in a strong way and without any doubt:
Poland reached the final of the championship yesterday with an emphatic 5-0 victory over Italy.
The minister has issued an emphatic rejection of the accusation.

emphasize
verb
1 (UK USUALLY -ise) to show or state that something is particularly important or worth giving attention to:
[+ question word] I'd just like to emphasize how important it is for people to learn foreign languages.
[+ that] He emphasized that all the people taking part in the research were volunteers.
You can use italics or capitals to emphasize a word in a piece of writing.

2 to make something more obvious:
Tight jeans will only emphasize any extra weight that you are carrying.

SpringI simply can't understand the meaning of the word "emphatic". Could you please tell me what it means in the following sentences?

"He gets plainer as he gets on, but not an atom more emphatic or animated."
This sentence does not make sense. I would ignore this example.

"Please just tell your mother," he said, in emphatic tones.
He said in a strong tone that is is very important to 'tell your mother."

"The merest acquaintance would have said something more emphatic than " I will, thank you; good-by," to such a request.
Even a person who is not a very good friend would have given a reply that is more exciting or assuring than "I will, thank you; good-bye."

"He was sufficiently emphatic to inspire me with every caution."
He gave his cautions with enough urging and importance that I was inspired by his message.

Thank you

Hope

Spring · Answer

I think I understand the word "emphatic" much better after reading and rereading your lucid explanations. Could you please check my sentences?

"Unfortunately, slavery is still alive!" emphatically she exclaimed.

His emphatic devotion to his work is highly admired by his coworkers.

Her emphatic belief that she was wronged purposfully inspired her to plot revenge.

He took a very emphatic stand against the proposition of using force and weapons in solving the problem.

Thank you very much

Hope

Danyoo · Answer

SpringI think I understand the word "emphatic" much better after reading and rereading your lucid explanations. Could you please check my sentences?

"Unfortunately, slavery is still alive!" emphatically she exclaimed.
OK, but it sounds better to say: "Unfortunately, slavery is still alive!" she exclaimed emphatically.

His emphatic devotion to his work is highly admired by his coworkers.
OK, but it's not common to use 'emphatic' as an adjective to describe 'devotion.' More common adjective are: unyielding devotion, committed devotion, uncompromising devotion, self-less devotion, charitable devotion.

Her emphatic belief that she was wronged purposfully inspired her to plot revenge.
Again OK, but not the best choice to describe 'belief.' Better construction would be: She had a compelling belief that she was wronged purposefully which inspired her to plot revenge. Also ok to use: telling belief, convincing belief.

You just have to learn which adjective goes well with which noun, because in English language there are so many words that have the same meaning, but different usages.

He took a very emphatic stand against the proposition of using force and weapons in solving the problem.
This sounds good, although you could have just said 'took an emphatic stand' and leave out 'very.' The reason is emphatic already means 'very stong' so saying 'very emphatic' can be considered redundant. But it's just a minor point...and people do say 'very emphatic' all the time.

Thank you very much
You're welcome. I am glad to be of help.

Hope

Spring · Answer

Is it that #2 and 3 sentences do not sound right because "emphatic" means that something is done or said in a strong way or without doubt?

So, I think better examples would be

emphatically supported the government policy

emphatically opposed the idea of having a casino in their neighborhood

emphatically advocated the interests of the people with disabilities

emphatically spoke against drunk drivers..

I hope I understand this word a little bit better this time

Many thanks

Hope

Davkett · Answer

The problem with emphatically exclaimed and exclaimed emphatically is that it is a redundancy. The same goes for emphatic devotion since devotion, in itself, is a fervent act. There is already something emphatic in fervor, I think.

Danyoo · Answer

SpringIs it that #2 and 3 sentences do not sound right because "emphatic" means that something is done or said in a strong way or without doubt?

So, I think better examples would be

emphatically supported the government policy
Strongly supported is more common...emphatically supported is not common, but I think it's okay.

emphatically opposed the idea of having a casino in their neighborhood
This sounds good.

emphatically advocated the interests of the people with disabilities
OK I think.

emphatically spoke against drunk drivers.
This is very good. Sounds very natural.

Keep in mind what davekett says above. I thinks it's best if you use emphatic to describe something that is not fervent by itself. Otherwise it would sound unnatural and redundant.

Many thanks

Hope

MrPedantic · Answer

"He emphatically supported...", "They emphatically opposed...", "She emphatically advocated..." are ok; but with "spoke", "emphatically" sounds a little odd, and seems to revert to a sense of "with physical emphasis", i.e. "loudly" or "with stress on certain words". (In the other versions, the "emphasis" is metaphorical.)

But this is ok:

1. He spoke out emphatically against drunk drivers.

MrP

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