Word
italics
Phoneticsital·ics
US/aɪˈtæɫɪks/
UK/ɪtˈælɪks/
Definition
n. a style of writing where the letters lean to the right. You use this to make a word stand out or to show the title of a book.
n. a typeface style in which characters slant to the right. Used to indicate emphasis, foreign words, or titles of creative works.
Examples
“The book titles in this list are in italics.”
“The editor suggested putting the character's internal thoughts in italics to distinguish them from the spoken dialogue.”
“Standard academic style guides usually require that the names of specific biological species be written in italics to maintain consistency across scientific publications.”
Examples
simple
“The book titles in this list are in italics.”
contextual
“The editor suggested putting the character's internal thoughts in italics to distinguish them from the spoken dialogue.”
complex
“Standard academic style guides usually require that the names of specific biological species be written in italics to maintain consistency across scientific publications.”
Usage
Takes a plural verb; often used with the preposition 'in' ('written in italics').
Pitfall
The word is in italic.
The word is in italics.
When referring to the style of writing, the plural form 'italics' is the standard usage.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/italics