To give special importance or prominence to something by stressing it in speech, writing, or action.
From Greek 'emphasis' (an appearance or display), from 'em-' (in) + 'phainein' (to show). The English verb form emerged in the 1700s from the noun.
The British spelling 'emphasise' and American 'emphasize' split because of different vowel patterns in older English—both are equally correct, but the British version keeps the noun-to-verb ending more consistent (like 'organise').
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