# italic vs italics

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### italic
*adjective · IPA /ɪˈtælɪk/ · frequency rank #40,301*
Designed to resemble a handwriting style developed in Italy in the 16th century.

### italics
*noun · frequency rank #24,206*
Letters in an italic typeface.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/italic-vs-italics