Questions tagged [italics]
In typography, italic type is a cursive typeface based on a stylized form of calligraphic handwriting.
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Italics Usage in Dictionaries
I've only recently realized that the example sentences in many English dictionaries are italicized. And I've yet to find out any other medium that uses italics in examples.
What is the history of ...
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Have I gone overboard with “italicing” my document? What are the rules for “italicing” words in these situations? [closed]
I'm writing a long letter in English in LibreOffice. I want it, and everything I write from now on, to be "perfect".
I very rarely use bold text, because it stands out to such a high degree. Instead, ...
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When to italicize dialogue punctuation?
I posted this on the writing forum a few days ago and it has remained unanswered. I'm not sure what that means, lol. (Apologies if it's inappropriate to post on two forums at once.)
I know CMOS 17 ...
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Do I need to use quotes when referring to something? [closed]
Do I need to use quotes here?
You can find those terms under the separate section called “Earthquakes” later in this chapter.
If no quotes are needed, must the word Earthquake still start with a ...
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How to use foreign words in English writing
Nonna is a word that means grandmother in Italian. If I italicize in the beginning like this: "Nine years ago, nonna (Italian grandmother), ..." then I don't have to continue italicizing the word ...
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Quotation marks or italics? His last words were “clock” and “good-bye.” I could not find a definitive answer here
Quotation marks or italics? His last words were "clock" and "good-bye." Clock and good-bye are used as words and are not quotations, but they are not unusual or in need of emphasis so I don't see the ...
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Quotation marks or italics for foreign word…or both in certain context?
When a foreign word is used for the first time in text, it is generally italicized (or put in quotation quotes as an alternative). Is it ever correct to use both italics and quotation marks when the ...
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Italicizing a Title Which Includes a Ship Name
I am writing an essay for school on the book The Wreck of the Whale-ship Essex for school. However, the Essex, as a ship, should also be italicized. Should I write it as "The Wreck of the Whale-ship ...
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What is the correct use of hyphens and capitals in “Big Brother style pop competition”? [duplicate]
Not sure it technically should have any, but a Big Brother style pop competition feels like quite a mouthful as it is so I’m wondering whether hyphens might help.
Also want to check the ...
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Use of italics versus quotes for terms [closed]
Something I find a little tricky is whether to use italics or quotes for terms. In most cases, the terms I cite are not used repeatedly, but are one-time mentions.
So, for example, we have the ...
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400 views
Should there be a comma after 'I thought' if this phrase is followed by an italicised thought?
For example, if writing:
I thought, she may miss him, but tonight you can't tell.
should there be a comma after 'I thought', or any other punctuation for that matter? I know commas are often used ...
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Using words used as words: Why am I confusing myself? [closed]
Humans, naturally, prefer simple over complex.
I would think that in the above sentence, both simple and complex are words used as words. (Though, perhaps, not as clear as it is in the preceding ...
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When italicizing a noun to emphasize, italicize the article or not?
When I want to emphasize a noun by italicizing, do I need to italicize the article of the noun or not? For example, is this correct?
"Is it an apple?"
"No, it is an orange."
Or, is this ...
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1answer
183 views
Quotes, italics, parentheses, and/or regular for translations [closed]
Okay Stack Exchange, here's the big ask:
What do you all recommend? My manager wants to know if this is stylistically appropriate. No specific manual we're looking at here. Just what would you guys ...
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Are the names of statues italicized in a books? [closed]
Writing a novel.
Are the names of statues italicized in a books?
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369 views
Use of italics and BrE single quotation marks
I'd like to know when to use italics and when to use single quotation marks should be used. For example:
The word he was looking for was ‘abjuration’.
vs
The word he was looking for was ...
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On a resume, should I italicize the name of a magazine when I'm referring to it *as* an employer? [closed]
In an earlier version of this question, I confused the issue by using the word company instead of employer. Strictly speaking, the magazine is not a company, but I was considered an employee of the ...
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Do you italicize the contraction attached to a foreign word?
I know you italicize words in other languages when writing. But what if you add a contraction? Is it abuela's or abuela's?
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Mention vs use of a word
In some cases it's not intuitive whether a word is mentioned or used, so it's difficult determining whether to write the word as normal or to use italics / quotation marks.
Two examples:
When you ...
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Sarcasm within thoughts
When I write sarcasm, I put it in italic writing, like; what a beautiful sweater. I also do this when writing third person perspective characters like; he's ugly. But what if the character is thinking ...
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1answer
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Italicising common 'foreign' words [closed]
If a house style outlines that foreign terms should be italicised, how strictly should this be applied to common terms taken from, say, French that everyone is more than familiar with? Italicising ...
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How to stylize specialist domain terminology [closed]
So I'm a software engineer and I was recently writing some documentation about an application. Said application has some functions/classes/etc whose names are overloaded with common English words and ...
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2answers
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Italicizing titles of nonexistent or spurious works?
This is for a novel: should the title of a non-existent video game be italicized when it's spoken as a solecism by a character?
Example: the mother tells the kids to stop playing Immortal Kombat. The ...
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1answer
161 views
Do I use italics on subsequent occurrences of this word? [closed]
I'm writing a formal essay about the Greek concept of xenia. I know I have to italicize it, but when I use this word in subsequent sentences and paragraphs, do I still italicize it? Or is it fine to ...
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Editing quotations with square brackets and italics at the same time
I have the following sentence from the Time Magazine, which I use as an example sentence on a flashcard:
At its best, Losers is a sluggish, stream-of-concupiscence exposition
of what Sartre ...
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1answer
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When can you choose to italicize part of a quote? If you do so, what words must you add and where must you add them? [closed]
I thought you only italicize a title of a book, music etc.. I'm not honestly sure about If you do so, what words must you add and where must you add them?
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In legal citations, why are “see”, “see also”, etc., in italics?
In legal citations, why do people put "see", "see also", "e.g.", etc., in italics?
Please don't just say, "because that's the custom." I'd like to know just enough about the evolution of this custom ...
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5k views
Does the phrase “per se” have to be italicized? [duplicate]
As far as I understand, the phrase "per se" comes from Latin. Yet, it has become to accepted in English and is used so commonly, that I was wondering if the phrase is still considered of foreign ...
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1answer
953 views
So, are single quotes, double quotes or italics most appropriate here? [closed]
I know, I know - similar questions have been asked before, but after reading so many answers here and elsewhere my intuitions have been scrambled and I have lost confidence in my normal practice...
...
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1answer
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How to format a sentence that a character has written down?
I'm trying my hand at editing a friends work. They've written the following:
'Thinks he's the smartest one in the room,' Henry wrote on a piece of paper.
(For context, they use double quotation ...
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1answer
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Abbreviations in italic? [closed]
I'm writing a report for my master thesis and I'm pretty unsure when to use italics. I have found some guidelines in the internet but I still have some questions.
I'm using abbreviations like ROC for ...
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In phonetic writing, what does italics mean?
The word government is supposed to be pronounced guhv-ern-muh nt
See here http://www.dictionary.com/browse/government?s=t
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Italicize Translated Title in Parentheses?
I'm proofreading a book and came across the title of a poem with the translation in parentheses (name changed for confidentiality):
"... in his poem, Les Amours des Dieux (The Loves of the Gods), .....
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628 views
Scientific Nomenclature: italics or roman in an italic environment
Scientific Nomenclature says that:
Italics are used for bacterial and viral taxa at the level of family
and below. All bacterial and many viral genes are italicized. Serovars
of Salmonella ...
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Why are vessel names italicized?
Can anyone tell me the reason vessel names, boats or spaceships for example, always appear in italics?
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Should magazine names be written in italics? [duplicate]
should they be in italics like books and newspapers?
I know about the latter but what about foreign magazines?
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Quotes, Italics, or Nothing? Introducing the concept of a type of list
In the following excerpt, the author is attempting to convey the need for people to create an exhaustive list of their needs and wants. He's calling this a "needs and wants" list.
Based on what I've ...
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Using italics for words used as words
I'm writing a fiction novel, and I'm not quite sure about the rules on italics.
Are the following italicized correctly?
John Doe, or Big John as he liked to be called, went to the market.
The item ...
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using a brand name in MLA style
Should a brand name be italicized when used in a MLA-style paper? For example, tin he following paragraph:
Future Shop, which offered technology supplies, was closed and in an
statement the CEO ...
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Italicization - first time or every time
When writing a book on popular culture, I'm using italics to introduce a film title into my paragraph. In the next paragraph I refer to the film title again. Should I use italics on the second ...
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Italics for dish names or herb names
Suppose I want to use words like idli, dosa, dal, sambhar...which are generic dishes- like one would say pancakes in English, should it be in italics?
What about names of special ingredients?
Thanks ...
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Punctuation and italics (by Google Dictionary)
If you type in Google define anaphora, it gives the following definition (original punctuation and style kept):
the use of a word referring to or replacing a word used earlier in a
sentence, to ...
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Would you italicize chapatis?
I guess "chapati" is foreign word and should be italicized in a text. But what about plural? The foreign word is actually chapati, and the plural is made using the English "s" (even if, maybe, chapati ...
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How to punctuate words we reference from other sources or that we think or say inwardly [closed]
I've read a few punctuation guides but am still having a very hard time differentiating between when inverted commas should be used over italics for certain words we reference but do not actually say ...
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1answer
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Italic format usage [duplicate]
When I was reading some articles, I noticed that they use the italic format for some words. Could you please tell me when I have to use it ?
Also, sometimes they used the quotation marks “…” and "..."...
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Putting a title in quotes — is it still italicized?
When referencing the title of something (which is normally italicized) in quotes, is it written like this:
David Guggenheim uses the title "Waiting for Superman"
or like this?
David Guggenheim ...
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1answer
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Is the word Nazi italicized? [MLA]
Recently my writing tutor told me any word in a foreign language should be italicized.
I was unsure if MLA was important to answer this question; just in case, I've included it in the title.
I'm ...
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1answer
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Use of Italics for Latin Text
The agency developed a modus operandi for such situations.
Is "modus operandi" italicised in such a sentence as this?
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What's the best way to format a loan word in an English sentence?
Say I have a word from another language that I am very fond of and I want to just plop it in a sentence without trying to translate it. Should I use italics? Example:
I've never cared for winter ...
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1answer
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Why is “their” italicized? [closed]
I'm having trouble understanding this sentence by Noam Chomsky. Noam published many English-related scientific papers in his professional career and I have no doubt that this italicization is ...
