an overall approximately

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "an overall approximately" is not correct and does not work well in written English.
The term "overall" suggests a general summary, while "approximately" indicates an estimation, making the combination awkward and unclear. Example: "The project will take an overall approximately six months to complete."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

These rates contribute to an overall (approximately) 5.8% resistance emergence, which lies within the estimated range 1% 18% incidence of neuraminidase resistance reported in clinical samples [18], [19], [20].

Plosone

For instance, 0.5% enrichment in L4 lethargus animals in a population that is otherwise made up of young adults or of mid L4 animals would result in an overall approximately two-fold higher expression of abu-7.

Biology Open

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

58 human-written examples

Overall, approximately a quarter of the analyzed tumors presented a mutation in at least one of the genes, but when analyzed individually, none of the genes revealed a high frequency of deleterious mutations in colorectal tumors.

Clinical Epigenetics

At this timepoint, ~40% were NG2 positive; overall approximately a third of the myofibroblasts were also pericytes.

Fibrogenesis and Tissue Repair

Overall, approximately a quarter (5/18) of the maturity QTL, four highly significant and one significant, in S7 co-located with rust QTL in the same population (Χ p-value <0.0001).

BMC Plant Biology

Overall, approximately a third of cases (85 out of 271; 31%) were eligible for clinical BRCA gene testing, though as expected this was lower in the unselected series (20 out of 122; 16%), particularly at older ages (Supplementary Table 1).

British Journal of Cancer

Overall, approximately a quarter of the respondents' job content involved food hygiene/school health surveillance (26.86 %) and health inspection for public facilities/cosmetics/drinking water (24.27 %).> In the county/district HIIs, more people had undergone PHE training or drills, and more people had work experience in a CDC (all P < 0.001; Table  2).

BMC Health Services Research

Compared to GX or LL patients, OL patients were slightly younger (average age 58.19 OL vs. 59.88 GX, 59.39 LL; p < 0.001) and overall approximately a quarter were enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans (25.24% OL, vs. 23.00% GX and 21.19% LL, p < 0.001).

BMC Clinical Pathology

S1)], reveals that intersection density has an overall maximum approximately 5 km from downtown and a local maximum approximately 18 km from downtown (which causes the walkability increase at 16 19 km in Figure 2).

Environmental Health Perspectives

Overall, approximately half a million people were deported from western Ukraine in connection with the suppression of the insurgency and nationalist activity, religious persecution, and collectivization.

Britannica

While incidence rates for lymphedema in other cancers are limited, a meta-analysis found that, overall, approximately 15% of those with melanoma, sarcoma, genitourinary, gynecological or head/neck cancer subsequently developed cancer-related lymphedema [ 5].

Health and Quality of Life Outcomes

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Avoid using "an overall approximately" in formal writing. Opt for clearer alternatives like "generally about" or "roughly around".

Common error

The phrase is often redundant because "overall" and "approximately" both indicate estimation. Choose one or the other to avoid unnecessary repetition.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "an overall approximately" functions as an adverbial modifier, attempting to qualify a statement with a sense of generality and estimation. However, as flagged by Ludwig AI, it's grammatically incorrect and stylistically awkward.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

50%

News & Media

0%

Formal & Business

0%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "an overall approximately" is grammatically incorrect and stylistically awkward, as flagged by Ludwig AI. While attempting to convey a general estimation, it suffers from redundancy and unclear construction. It is best to use alternatives like "generally about" or "roughly around" which offer more clarity and grammatical correctness. Although there are a few examples of its use, primarily in scientific contexts, it's advisable to avoid this phrase in both formal and informal writing. Remember that clarity and precision are crucial for effective communication.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

generally about

Replaces both "overall" and "approximately" with more common synonyms.

roughly around

Similar to "generally about", using slightly less formal synonyms.

in general roughly

Uses "in general" to convey "overall" and "roughly" for "approximately".

roughly in general

Similar to "in general roughly" but with a slightly different emphasis.

on average approximately

Adds "on average" for clarity but the combination with "approximately" is still slightly redundant.

about in general

Similar to "in general roughly" but with a slightly different emphasis.

approximately overall

Reverses the order of the adverbs to improve flow, but the combination remains awkward.

generally in total

Uses "in total" to replace approximately, suggesting a sum.

as a whole approximately

Uses "as a whole" to replace overall, maintaining the sense of generalization

in the aggregate roughly

Replaces "overall" with "in the aggregate" for a more formal tone.

FAQs

What does "an overall approximately" mean?

The phrase attempts to convey a general estimate, but it's grammatically awkward. It tries to combine the concepts of a general view ("overall") and an estimation ("approximately") into a single modifier, but the combination is not standard English usage.

How can I rephrase "an overall approximately" to sound more natural?

Consider using alternatives such as "generally about" or "roughly around" depending on the context. These options provide a smoother and clearer way to express a general estimation.

Is "an overall approximately" grammatically correct?

No, the phrase is not considered grammatically correct in standard English. The combination of "overall" and "approximately" creates an awkward construction. It's better to choose one term or use a different phrasing altogether.

What's wrong with using "an overall approximately" in a sentence?

The phrase is redundant and can make your writing sound unclear. Both "overall" and "approximately" serve similar functions, so using them together is unnecessary. Choose one or replace the phrase with a more concise alternative.