Should Brackets Be Italicized?

In general, these marks should not adopt the formatting of the surrounded material. But sometimes, due to its slant, an italic character will collide with a roman parenthesis. In that case, it's fine to italicize the parentheses—readers will notice the collision more than the departure from convention.

Are brackets italicized?

Emphasis. If you use italics to emphasize a portion of the quotation, indicate the change in brackets. She said she would consider “a very short extension of the deadline, but only under the most extraordinary circumstances [emphasis added].”

Why are words in brackets in italics?

5.6: Parentheses and brackets enclosing italic material may be set in italic to avoid such common typefitting problems as overlapping ascenders or descenders or visually uneven spacing within enclosures.

Elena Rostova

Elena Rostova

Lead Health, Wellness & Medical Journalist

Elena Rostova holds a Master's degree in Public Health Journalism. She covers groundbreaking medical research, holistic wellness trends, mental health awareness, and nutritional science.