Dictionary

misemphasize en · VERB

Etymology

From mis- + emphasize.

Meanings

1. To emphasize incorrectly or inappropriately.
   • Instructions must accurately state the law, and must not mislead the jury or misemphasize some element. 1997, Dan B. Dobbs, Paul T. Hayden, Torts and Compensation, page 14:
   • 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. 1898, Proceedings of The Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools Annual Convention, page 105:
   • 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 2020, John P. McCormick, Reading Machiavelli, page 41:

Forms