The meaning of EMPHASIZE is to place emphasis on : stress. How to use emphasize in a sentence. emphasize meaning, definition, what is emphasize: to say something in a strong way: Learn more. Learn the meaning, pronunciation, and examples of the verb emphasize, which means to give emphasis or stress to something. Compare with irony and see synonyms, translations, and related words. Definition of emphasize in the Definitions.net dictionary. Meaning of emphasize. What does emphasize mean? Information and translations of emphasize in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web.