# emphatic

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ɛmˈfætɪk/ · frequency rank #25,747

## Definitions
1. Characterized by emphasis; forceful.
2. Stated with conviction.
3. Belonging to a set of English tense forms comprising the auxiliary verb do plus an infinitive without to.
4. Belonging to a series of obstruent consonants in several Afro-Asiatic languages that are distinguished by a guttural (co-)articulation.
5. Belonging to a series of obstruent consonants in several Afro-Asiatic languages that are distinguished by a guttural (co-)articulation.
6. Referring to the above consonants as well as /ħ/ and /ʕ/ (these being seen as emphatic equivalents of /h/ and /ʔ/).

## Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἐμφατικός (emphatikós, “emphatic”), from ἐμφαίνω (emphaínō, “I show, present”), from ἐν (en, “in”) + φαίνω (phaínō, “I shine, show”); related to ἔμφασις (émphasis) and English emphasis.

## Easily confused with
- **emphasis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/emphasis-vs-emphatic)
- **empathic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/empathic-vs-emphatic)

## Common misspellings (12)
`emhpatic`, `emmphatic`, `empahtic`, `emphaitc`, `emphatci`, `emphaticc`, `emphattic`, `emphhatic`, `emphtaic`, `empphatic`, `epmhatic`, `mephatic`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/emphatic