to point up
3
4.7
- phrasal verb
- /pɔɪnt ʌp/
:
resaltar
- The teacher used bright colors to point up the importance of the lesson.
Examples
-
Crafts's career, though, also points up the need to expand the conception of social Christianity.
Academic text (2002) -
The report insisted that the United States was "a nation at risk" because of failing schools, and serves to point up the importance of our schools in relation to the success of our nation in the world for the 21st century, and a need for urgent change in those schools.
Academic text (2000) -
And the whole incident points up a fundamental moral breakdown in our society.
-
With that in mind, I want to point up to the two quotations that I put on the board to start us off today.
-
Which, given her devotion to good, does rather point up the arbitrariness of it all.
-
The interpersonal dynamics of such discussions point up the special constraints of the system.
Academic text (1991) -
But a clear understanding of this debt immediately points up the importance, even the profundity, of Tocqueville's departure from his teacher.
Academic text (2001) -
However, each event was accompanied by a certain trauma, and each, in its own right, pointed up serious shortcomings in the process of consolidating democracy.
Academic text (1991) -
It gives us a chance to feel superior and to point up a fundamental moral breakdown in society, but it doesn't really affect us, does it?
-
Although I do not believe that the object was genuine, his assertion points up a better reason why museums and collectors have to exercise care: when the statue was returned, the Kom people, along with most other Cameroonians, learned of its immense value and proceeded to make as many copies as possible.
Academic text (1990)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To show or direct attention to something
∞
1.8
To tell someone about something important or show it to them
484
1.0
To lift something to a higher position or make it stand out
397
3.7
To show that something is very important
340
3.3
To emphasize something so it stands out as important
76
4.1
To make a feeling, effect or situation stronger
76
3.0
Make a quality or detail easier to notice
29
2.9
To make people notice something important
27
6.0
Make a part of something more noticeable
9
4.3
Make something seem more important or impressive than it is
2
5.8
To make something more noticeable or important
1
3.7
Show that something is very important
Make something seem important or worthy of attention
Antonyms
How Emphatic
13
4.0
- US
397
3.7
340
3.3
3
4.7
951
1.6
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to emphasize or make something more noticeable' is directly and compositionally derived from 'point' (to direct attention) combined with 'up' (to increase/intensify), following a standard English verb + particle pattern. This construction is predictable and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would very likely infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
The phrasal verb point up comes from a simple picture: someone using a finger to point and lift their hand up toward something so others notice it. So, it now means 'to emphasize' or 'to make something more noticeable'.