When to italicize a word

Of all the typographic styles, italicization may look the most dynamic. Perhaps it’s the way the words slant to the right, as if striding confidently to a business meeting. Or perhaps we’re overthinking this. The point is that italics are a useful, versatile part of writing. But when should you use them?

Key occasions for using italics include:

• To emphasize something.
• For titles of standalone works, such as books and movies.
• For vehicle names, such as ships.
• To show that a word is borrowed from another language.
• For the Latin “scientific” names of plant and animal species.

Let’s take a look at each of these to see how they work in practice.

Italics for Emphasis

Like bold fonts or underlining, italics are often used for emphasis. This means we can use italics to stress or draw attention to a particular word or phrase:

Italicization is the best way to emphasize something.

Here, italicizing best shows that we feel strongly about italics.

Generally, italics are the standard form of emphasis in academic writing. This is because they look more formal than bold formatting. However, always check your style guide if your university or employer has one, since some organizations have different rules about emphasizing text.

Italics in Place of Quote Marks

It would be unusual to italicize a full quote rather than placing it in quote marks. However, some people do use italics to set single words apart in the same way you might with quotes. For example:

Quote Marks: The word “italic” comes from a Greek word meaning “Italy.”

Italics: The word italic comes from a Greek word meaning Italy.

As with emphasis, if you are using a style guide, you may want to check whether it allows this. Otherwise, though, italics can be helpful if using too many quote marks makes your writing look cluttered.

When to Use Italics for Titles

Another common use of italicization is for titles. Not your own headings – you can italicize these, but that’s a matter of stylistic preference – but the titles of published works, such as books. For instance, if we mentioned a work by Charles Dickens in an essay, we would write it like this:

Queen Victoria read The Old Curiosity Shop in 1841.

By using italics, we set the title text apart from the rest of the sentence.

It’s not just books that you should do this for. Typically, the same applies for any self-contained media product or publication (i.e., something published by itself rather than as part of a collection). This includes the titles of:

• Books and book-length poems
• Academic journals (i.e., the journal title itself, not individual article titles)
• Magazines and newspapers
• Movies, radio programs, and TV shows
• Plays and other stage shows
• Music albums and other published audio recordings
• Paintings, statues, and other works of art

Titles of shorter works, by comparison, are often placed in quotation marks. However, the rules for presenting titles do vary between style guides.

Italicizing Vehicle Names

You can use italics for the names of individual vehicles, such as a ship or space rocket. For instance, we would italicize the following vehicle names:

The sailors boarded the HMS Belfast in silence.

The Titanic sank during her maiden voyage.

Here, we italicize Belfast and Titanic because they’re the proper names of specific ships. We do not italicize the initials preceding names of ships (e.g., HMS, RMS, USS). In addition, you should only italicize the names of individual vehicles. If you’re writing the name of a brand or make of a vehicle (e.g., Ford Escort or Boeing 747), by comparison, you don’t need italics.

Italicizing Non-English Words

Make sure to italicize any non-English words you use in English-language writing. This shows the reader that the word was borrowed from another language. For instance, we could say:

In Germany, this feeling is known as Waldeinsamkeit.

The exact rules for when to italicize foreign words may vary depending on the style guide you check. For instance, most style guides make exceptions for words that are now fairly common in English even if they are still loanwords, so you would not usually need to italicize terms like “raison d’être.”

If in doubt, though, you can always check a good dictionary (e.g., the OED or Webster’s). Assuming you can find the word in the dictionary, it should be widely used enough in English to write without italics.

Italicizing Species Names

Binomial nomenclature (i.e., the Latin names given to plant and animal species) is usually italicized. For example, we could say:

Nobody wants Amorphophallus titanum growing in their garden.

As above, you should also capitalize the first word (i.e., the genus) in scientific plant and animal names, but not the second term (i.e., the species).

Other Uses for Italics

There are occasions when you may want to use italics not covered above. In fact, italics are useful for most situations where you need to make some part of a text distinct. One example comes from creative writing, where some people use italics to indicate an unspoken thought. For instance, we could use italics to show a character’s inner monologue:

Jeff sat silently in the doctor’s office. It wasn’t his usual doctor, so he was already nervous before the needle appeared.

“Don’t worry,” said the doctor. “It won’t hurt.”

Easy for you to say, Jeff thought. It’s not you at the sharp end of that thing. But he kept this to himself, instead uttering a meek “OK.”

However you use italics, though, there are two main rules to follow:

1. Try not to use italics for too many different reasons in a single document. For instance, if you are writing something with a lot of titles and foreign words, you may want to find a different way of formatting emphasis.
2. If you use italicized text for any part of a document, apply it consistently. So, for instance, if you’re using italics for loanwords in one part of an essay, you’ll want to do the same throughout the document.

And if you need anyone to check your use of italics in a document, our editors are here to help. Just submit your work for proofreading today.

Last Update: Jan 03, 2023

This is a question our experts keep getting from time to time. Now, we have got the complete detailed explanation and answer for everyone, who is interested!

Asked by: Mr. Florian Willms PhD

Score: 4.5/5
(64 votes)

Most commonly, italics are used for emphasis or contrast — that is, to draw attention to some particular part of a text. … This is the standard way of representing emphasis or contrast; you should not try to use quotation marks or other punctuation marks for this purpose.

When should you italicize a word?

Use Italics when you want to emphasize a certain word or phrase. A common use for italics is to draw attention to a particular part of a text in order to provide emphasis. If something is important or shocking, you might want to italicize that word or phrase so that your readers don’t miss it.

Why italicize a word in a sentence?

What is the purpose of italics? Italics are used primarily to denote titles and names of particular works or objects in order to allow that title or name to stand out from the surrounding sentence. Italics may also be used for emphasis in writing, but only rarely.

Why are some words set off in italics?

Emphasis or Contrast — Italics can be used for emphasis; however, try not to overdo this or it will lose its effect. They may also be used to draw attention to some particular part of a text or to show contrast.

When should I use italics in an essay?

When to Use Italics in Your Writing

40 related questions found

English has a lot of grammatical rules to keep in mind. From the usage of commas to capitalization, knowing how to write properly is an important skill to hone for those in school and beyond. Whether you are writing research papers or formal letters, you’ll come across instances of italicization. Knowing when to italicize is an important skill to master.

Let’s take a look at how italics came to exist and when to italicize. With this guide, you’ll soon be an italics pro!

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

The History Behind Italics

Italics is when a typeface is slanted to the right. Like this!

Italics are used to distinguish words from other parts of the text and draw attention. Like underlining, it can create emphasis; therefore, you wouldn’t want to both underline and italicize the same word. Yet, underlining and italicizing may often be used interchangeably.

Underlining was the precursor to italicizing. Once word processors and printers became more sophisticated to handle italics, it has become a popular alternative to underlining.

When To Italicize

With this being said, using italics isn’t always a choice of personal preference. There are rules and guidelines to follow to know when to italicize. Let’s take a look at some of the rules!

7 Rules For Italics

1. Emphasis

Want a word or phrase to stand out in a block of text? Try writing in italics. Example: I went to grab pizza with friends today. It was so delicious that I ate an entire pie. (Notice how you read the word “so” with more emphasis than the rest of the words in that statement).

2. Titles Of Work

The titles of works should be italicized (or underlined). Examples include:

• Books – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• Newspapers – The Los Angeles Times
• Movies – The Dark Knight
• Magazines – People
• Plays – A Streetcar Named Desire
• Works of Art – Frida Kahlo’s The Two Fridas
• TV/radio programs – Friends
• CDs/albums – Drake’s Views

3. Articles

Based on the above, you may be questioning, “Are articles italicized?” Articles are shorter forms of work. As such, they are put into quotation marks rather than italicized. For example, you could write something like: In his article “A Mystery Explained” for The New York Times, the author exposed the details of the crime.

4. Foreign Words

If you’re writing in one language but you want to introduce a word in another language, you may consider italicizing it. For example, “The word for war in Spanish is guerra.”

5. Names Of Trains, Ships, Spaceships

Words that are names of transportation vehicles (with the exception of cars) are italicized. For example, the space shuttle Challenger is in italics.

6. Words As Reproduced Sounds

If you want to write out the way something sounds, then you can leverage italics. To depict, “The bees went bzzz in my ear.” This doesn’t mean that you would write verbs that are sounds in italics. (i.e., “There was a loud thud.”)

7. Words As Words

When you are writing a word to use it as a word for reference, then you can put it in italics. For example, “He defined close in context of the situation as being within 6 feet of each other.”

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

Examples For When To Use Italics

There are various writing formats that have slightly different rules. When you’re writing a scholarly paper, you may be advised to write in MLA format or APA format.

The MLA format may allow for interchangeability between italics and underlines. In the APA format, these are some examples of when to use and when not to use italics — and they aren’t always in line with the examples above. In APA format, for example, you should not use italics just for emphasis.

So before writing any scholarly paper, it’s useful to double check the rules for italics according to the specific guidelines.

Use Italics

• First introduction to a new term – i.e., “Communism is defined as, ‘ a form of government…’”
• Titles of book and web pages – i.e., “Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson”
• English letters used as math symbols – i.e., “Solve for the variable x.”
• Anchors of scale – i.e., “Rate your experience on a scale of 1 (extremely dissatisfied) to 10 (extremely satisfied)”
• First use of words in a different language – i.e., “She was the crème de la crème.”

Do Not Use Italics

• For the title of book series – i.e., “the Dan Brown series”
• Punctuation around italics – i.e., “(extremely dissatisfied)”
• Words from foreign languages that are in the dictionary of the language you are writing – i.e., “per se”

Things To Remember

This list of rules and exceptions can feel overwhelming. And there’s still more to learn and remember on top of the points above! Keep in mind:

• Don’t italicize the titles of songs, chapters in books, or poems. Instead, use quotations. For example, you could write: On the Drake album Views, I really like the song “Fire & Desire.”
• Don’t italicize religious texts – i.e., the Torah or the Koran. Instead, these are capitalized.
• Don’t underline and italicize together like this. (That sure is painful to read!)

Although there is a lot to remember when it comes to what to italicize, the good news is that you can always research whether or not something should be italicized online or refer back to this list!

Italics Or Not? That Is The Question

As a student, it’s important to fine tune your grammar skills now so that when you graduate and enter the workforce, you can produce exemplary work every time!

As mentioned, when writing research papers or any other academic paper, your professor will share what standards they want you to abide by. Whether it’s MLA or APA formats, you can look up the rules for when to italicize before and during the writing process.

Then, when you edit, be sure to check all your usages of underlines, italics, and quotation marks to ensure they are implemented correctly!

If you’re thinking of using italics to emphasize words, keep in mind that the type of writing you do—and what style guide you follow—will determine how you use italics.

Italics are typically used to show emphasis (For example: “I don’t care what he thinks. I do what I want!”) or to indicate titles of stand-alone works (Black Panther, Lost in Translation).

Different style guides have different rules about what to italicize. But here are some good general guidelines—the most important thing is to stay consistent within your work.

How do I use italics for emphasis?

Italics can emphasize a single word or phrase. For example: “Are you going to eat that?” or “I never said I wanted to go. I said I would consider it.”

It’s best to use italics for emphasis sparingly so that they retain their impact. In academic writing, using italics for emphasis is not recommended. But if you’re writing that Great American Novel or funny emails to your friends, go right ahead!

When you’re referring to words as nouns or objects, you should also use italics to help offset it from the rest of the sentence. For example: “The word anxious has a different connotation than the word worried.” (If you’re a dictionary, ahem, this is an important distinction.)

What about italics for titles of works?

Italics are important when writing titles of works. In most cases, you should italicize the titles of complete works, like books: The Great Gatsby, Beloved, and The Catcher in the Rye. You would also italicize the names of feature-length films, like Rocky, Schindler’s List, and Frozen. Music albums, TV shows, and names of newspapers and magazines should also be italicized because they’re singular works.

On the other hand, shorter works (like short stories, poems, individual songs, short films, and individual TV episodes) usually use quotation marks. This shows that they’re parts of larger works. If you can’t remember whether to use italics or quotation marks, try asking yourself if you’d be able to buy the title at the store by itself. If not, then it should probably get quotation marks. For example, you could say: The first essay in David Sedaris’s bestselling book Me Talk Pretty One Day is called “Go Carolina.”

As always, there are some exceptions. Complete religious works aren’t italicized or underlined. For example, the Bible, the Qur’an, and the Torah are all capitalized, but not otherwise signified. In addition, specific books within the religious works (like the Book of Genesis) don’t receive italics, underlining, or quotation marks.

When a punctuation mark is part of the work’s title, you should italicize it. One example is Judy Blume’s book Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. If a punctuation mark after the title isn’t part of the title, it shouldn’t be italicized. For example: “Have you ever read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy?” Here, the question mark isn’t italicized because it’s not part of the book’s title. (And we hope the answer is yes!)

How do I italicize ships and aircraft?

The proper names of ships, vessels, and aircraft should be italicized. For example, the Titanic, Apollo 11, and the U.S.S. Hornet are all italicized. Notice that “U.S.S.” isn’t italicized, because it isn’t part of the proper name.

Are foreign words italicized?

Foreign words that haven’t fully been adopted by English tend to be italicized. For example: “Lee waved goodbye to his halmeoni from the bus window.” Foreign words that are commonly used in English, like bon voyage or alma mater, don’t automatically need italics in a sentence. For example, “She wished him bon voyage when she dropped him off at the airport.”

What about sounds?

Onomatopoeic words (or words that sound like sounds) are usually italicized, as well. For example, “The book landed on the floor with a hearty thwack!” In this case, if an exclamation point is used, it should also be italicized.

The exact rules for using italics depend on the specific style guide you’re using. If you’re not following a style guide, these guidelines are a safe bet. Remember, the most important rule is to be consistent.

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