Meaning & use
longitudinally
Last updated
Meanings
adverbnot comparable
Along the length of something, running in the direction of its longest side.
Grammar: Describes how something is cut, placed or runs: split longitudinally.
Patterns
- cut something longitudinally
- run longitudinally
The carpenter split the board longitudinally to make two thin planks.
The stripes run longitudinally down the length of the flag.
The biologist sliced the stem longitudinally to study its inner structure.
adverbnot comparablespecialist
Over a long period, by repeatedly studying the same people or things.
Grammar: Used in research writing: the group was followed longitudinally.
Patterns
- study something longitudinally
- follow someone longitudinally
The researchers tracked the children longitudinally for twenty years.
Data collected longitudinally show how habits change over time.
The group was assessed longitudinally to measure growth.
Common combinations
- cut longitudinally
- The surgeon cut the tissue longitudinally.
- split longitudinally
- The log was split longitudinally.
- study longitudinally
- They study aging longitudinally.
- follow longitudinally
- Participants were followed longitudinally for ten years.
- run longitudinally
- The cracks run longitudinally along the beam.
Synonyms and how they differ
- lengthwise
- Lengthwise is the everyday word for the first sense, while longitudinally sounds scientific.
- lengthways
- Lengthways is the British form of lengthwise and is plain and informal.
- over time
- Over time covers the research sense in a looser way, while longitudinally implies repeated measurement of the same subjects.
Opposites
Word family
- longitudinal adjective
- running lengthwise, or involving study over a long time
- longitude noun
- distance east or west on the globe, measured in degrees
- long adjective
- the base word, measuring great length
Commonly confused: longitudinally or latitudinally? longitudinally or horizontally?
longitudinally vs latitudinally
Latitudinally refers to the direction across, from side to side, which is the opposite of longitudinally.
longitudinally vs horizontally
Horizontally means level with the ground, whereas longitudinally depends on the long axis, whatever its direction.
Practice
The researchers followed the same volunteers for fifteen years, studying them ___.
Choose one answer.
Studying the same subjects over a long period is a longitudinal study. The other adverbs describe physical direction and do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “longitudinally”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.