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Glite Dictionary
❗ To emphasize ➖ A line below 📝 To underline
to underscore

to underscore

1 4.7
To draw a line under a word to show it is important
  • verb
  • /ˌʌndərˈskoʊr/
: subrayar
  • underscore the word

Examples

  • And this is something that also a guy named Chris Summer, coach Summer underscored for me.

  • But I think it's worth really underscoring that you develop this and reinforce this truth speaking.

  • So I said earlier, I'm here to recruit you, but I want to close by underscoring the existence of an abundance of hope.

  • No one in the Church is exempt from limitations—a reality that Jesus' incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection both underscore and finally overcome.

    Academic text (2009)

  • To emphasize the main point of her argument, she decided to underscore the key facts in her presentation.

  • The teacher used a marker to underscore important vocabulary words in the text for her students.

  • In his speech, he made sure to underscore the significance of community involvement for the project's success.

Synonyms

to underline
vsto underscore
25 2.2

To draw a line under a word to show it is important

is identical but focuses on shorter units like words or phrases

How Emphasized

to drive home
27 4.0
to underscore
1 4.7
to emphasize
  • US
397 3.7
to highlight
340 3.3
to point out
∞ 1.8
to note
951 1.6
to mention
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

underscore infinitive
underscored past
underscored past participle
underscoring present participle
underscores third person singular

Morphology

underscore = score (transparent) = under + score

The verb is productive prefixation: 'under' + 'score' = to make a mark beneath; the literal action matches the parts.

Etymology

The verb underscore is made of under 'below' and score 'line', so it literally means 'to put a line under' a word, and that is why teachers ask students to underscore important words.