emphasis

/ˈemfəsɪs/

noun

Definition

1

Special importance or attention given to something, because it is considered significant or worthy of notice

The company is putting a lot of emphasis on customer service this year, so we're hiring more staff to handle the calls.

2

A particular way of pronouncing a word, or the stress on a particular syllable in a word

The emphasis on the second syllable of 'beautiful' can be tricky for non-native speakers to get right.

Synonyms

stressMore often used to describe the pronunciation of a word, rather than the importance given to something priorityImplies that something is more important than other things, and should be dealt with first focusSuggests concentrating attention or effort on something, often in order to achieve a specific goal

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