misemphasize

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From mis- +‎ emphasize.

Verb

[edit]

misemphasize (third-person singular simple present misemphasizes, present participle misemphasizing, simple past and past participle misemphasized)

  1. To emphasize incorrectly or inappropriately.
    • 1898, Proceedings of The Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools Annual Convention, page 105:
      But the widespread interest in intercollegiate debating and proper gratitude for what it has done to stimulate a study of the different forms of public discourse have led undergraduates, graduates, and even teachers, I think, greatly to misemphasize its importance in the field of study under discussion this morning — public discourse.
    • 1997, Dan B. Dobbs, Paul T. Hayden, Torts and Compensation, page 14:
      Instructions must accurately state the law, and must not mislead the jury or misemphasize some element.
    • 2020, John P. McCormick, Reading Machiavelli, page 41:
      Recent reformers like St. Dominic and St. Francis, he suggests, misemphasize certain aspects of the Christian religion: they emphasize the poverty and self-abnegation of Christ's life and preach the deferring of punishment for the wicked