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AMA Manual of Style Committee

Contents

Redundant Words

Chapter:
Correct and Preferred Usage
Author(s):

Roxanne K. Young

11.2.1 Redundant Words

A redundancy is a term or phrase that unnecessarily repeats words or meanings. Below are some common redundancies that can usually be avoided (redundant words are italicized):

adequate enough

general rule

advance planning

herein we describe

aggregate together

interval of time

brief in duration

large [small, bulky] in size

combine together

lift up

completely full [empty]

major breakthrough

consensus of opinion

near to

contemporaneous in age

out of [but: out of bounds, out of place, out of the question, out of the jurisdiction, out of the woods]

count [divide] up

outside of

covered over

oval [square, round, lenticular] in shape

distinguish the difference

own personal view

each individual person

past history

eliminate altogether

period of time, time period, point in time

empty out

personal friend

enter into (exception: enter into a contract)

precedes in time

equally as well as

predict in advance

estimated at about

raised up

fellow colleagues

reassessed again

fewer in number

red in color

filled to capacity

rough [smooth] in texture

first initiated

similar results were

fuse together

obtained also by

future plans

12 noon [midnight]

skin rash

2 halves

soft [firm] in consistency

2 out of 12

sour [sweet, bitter] tasting

uniformly consistent

split up

whether or not [unless the intent is to give equal emphasis to the alternative]

still continues

sum total

tender to the touch

younger [older] than 50 years of age

true fact