Meaning & use
italics
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Meaning
nounplural
Letters that slope to the right, used in print to stress a word or mark titles and foreign terms.
Grammar: Takes a plural verb when it is the subject, but is commonly used after in: written in italics.
Patterns
- in italics
- put something in italics
The title of the book is shown in italics.
I put the key word in italics so readers notice it.
Foreign terms are usually set in italics.
Common combinations
- in italics
- The new term appears in italics.
- set in italics
- Quotations are set in italics here.
- use italics
- Use italics for the names of ships.
- switch to italics
- Switch to italics for the caption.
- bold and italics
- Don't mix bold and italics in the same line.
Synonyms and how they differ
- slanted type
- Slanted type is an everyday description, while italics is the exact printing term.
- cursive
- Cursive means joined-up handwriting, but italics are print characters that lean without necessarily joining.
- oblique
- Oblique is a technical term for a sloped upright style, while true italics also change the letter shapes.
Opposites
Word family
- italic adjective
- describing sloping type
- italicize verb
- to print or write in italics
- italicization noun
- the act of putting text in italics
Commonly confused: italics or Italic? italics or underline?
italics vs Italic
Italic with a capital I can mean relating to ancient Italy, not sloped letters.
italics vs underline
Underlining draws a line under text, while italics slant the letters themselves.
Practice
The editor asked me to write the book titles ___.
Choose one answer.
We write or print something in italics. The other prepositions are not used with this phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “italics”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.