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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

Bolded words - Is this not correct?

Hi!

As a non-native English speaker, I've come to face a problem with the word "bolded"

I know "bold" is an adjective so we can use that word like this: the bold words.

How about "bolded"? Isn't "bolded" a word? I can't find "bolded" in any English dictionaries but in many web-pages written in English.

Is "the bolded words" a wrong phrase?
  

Top answer

This is a problem for many people. The word 'embolden', which is the usual word for 'make bold', applies to bravery, not type sets. Actually, there is already a good verb for this: 'boldface' ('Please boldface the next 3 lines'), but it is almost unknown outside printers' circles.

— Mister Micawber

  • This is a problem for many people.
  • The word 'embolden', which is the usual word for 'make bold', applies to bravery, not type sets.
  • Actually, there is already a good verb for this: 'boldface' ('Please boldface the next 3 lines'), but it is almost unknown outside printers' circles.
  • With the amount of boldfacing that is going on these days on the internet, I would not be surprised if 'bold/bolded/bolded' as a verb soon enters the dictionaries.
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8 Answers
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This is a problem for many people. The word 'embolden', which is the usual word for 'make bold', applies to bravery, not type sets. Actually, there is already a good verb for this: 'boldface' ('Please boldface the next 3 lines'), but it is almost unknown outside printers' circles. With the amount of boldfacing that is going on these days on the internet, I would not be surprised if 'bold/bolded
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Why not simply say "words in bold"?
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You might, but that is not the thrust of this discussion.
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No, it's fine. Regardless of whether it's found in dictionaries, it has been in usage for centuries

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Citations:bolded#English
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I'm afraid you've made a rather quick -- and fallacious -- judgement here.

Close reading of the Wikipedia article you reference reveals no support for "centuries of use" of the word "bolded."
  • The oldest reference (an 1899 essay quoting a letter from 1540) contains the other meaning of bolded (made brave).
  • The next reference (a textbook from 1981 -- hardly "centuries" o
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Adjectives do not have a tense. In other words the word bold describes something and therefore cannot, or rather, should not have a present, past or future tense like verbs do. Some people do this same thing with the word text. There is a reason why saying," I texted him," doesn't sound right. That's because it isn't right. It should read, " I sent him a text." Text in this case is a noun. N
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AnonymousThere is a reason why saying," I texted him," doesn't sound right.
It's fine. TEXT is widely used as a verb in BrE. It is listed in several dictionaries at www.onelook.com, including the Oxford, American Heritage and Merriam-Webster's.

This is a very recent development, as
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embolden perfect! Thanks!
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