1. One or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed, perform a method for, in response to a query, presenting search results to a user having regions emphasized therein in accordance with a highlighting scheme, the method comprising: receiving a query having one or more search terms therein; distilling a proposition from the one or more search terms, wherein the proposition is a logical representation of a conceptual meaning of the query; comparing the proposition against semantic representations retained in a semantic index to determine a matching set, wherein the semantic representations comprise a linguistic representation derived from content of passages within at least one document; identifying the passages that are mapped to the matching set of semantic representations; applying emphasis to the regions of the identified passages according to a highlighting scheme; and presenting the emphasized regions of the identified passages to the user as the search results relevant to the query.