equally ancient equally

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "equally ancient equally" is not correct and does not convey a clear meaning in written English.
It may be intended to emphasize that two things are of the same ancient quality, but the repetition of "equally" is unnecessary and awkward. Example: "The ruins of both civilizations are equally ancient, equally fascinating to historians."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

News & Media

Science

Encyclopedias

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

Manhattan resembles an Americana strip mall lined with corporate chains, but you can still find the halal guys, the homeless man who feeds his measly food scraps to the pigeons, the old lady hobbling down the street to the latest exhibit at such and such, an equally ancient, equally elegant dog tucked under her arm.

Vice

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

58 human-written examples

"With lemon," says the first, to the equally ancient waiter.

The New York Times - Food

I was handed an ancient laptop for emails and an equally ancient phone for calls.

The Guardian

But these ancient mind-control tactics geared toward an equally ancient naive populace no loner work their magic.

Huffington Post

Herpesviruses are equally ancient pathogens, so important interactions with TRIMs would not be a surprise.

Plosone

However, they also noted that equally ancient taxa may have markedly shorter branch lengths.

BMC Evolutionary Biology

Thus, the absence of the remaining MITE families in these sequences does not preclude their equally ancient origin.

Genome Biology and Evolution

Numbers, names — they are equally arbitrary, equally random, equally unimportant".

The New York Times - Books

Equally cute, equally hungry, equally worthy.

Huffington Post

The origins of these chants are ancient, often obscure, and equally complicated.

Encyclopedia Britannica

The ancient societies of Middle America (Mexico and Central America) were not equally vulnerable to the sudden stresses of explosive volcanic eruptions.

Interhemispheric Climate Linkages

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Avoid redundant adverbs. Instead of "equally ancient equally", choose a more concise phrasing like "just as ancient" or "equally old" for clarity.

Common error

Be cautious of using multiple adverbs to modify the same adjective. It often leads to awkward or unclear sentences. In this case, "equally ancient" already conveys the intended meaning; repeating "equally" adds nothing and detracts from the sentence's readability.

Linguistic Context

Adverbial Phrase Modification: The phrase attempts to function as a modifier, emphasizing the equal level of antiquity between two subjects. However, the repetition of "equally" renders it grammatically incorrect. As noted by Ludwig AI, the phrase is not considered correct English.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

30%

Science

30%

Encyclopedias

10%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Academia

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "equally ancient equally" is grammatically incorrect due to the redundant use of the adverb "equally". As Ludwig AI points out, this repetition does not add value and diminishes the clarity of the sentence. While the intent is to emphasize that two entities share a similar level of antiquity, it is best to use alternatives such as "equally old" or "just as ancient". These alternatives offer a more concise and grammatically sound way to convey the same meaning. The appearance of the phrase in news sources and general articles may indicate a lapse in editing rather than acceptable usage. To maintain clarity and correctness, avoid using "equally ancient equally" in your writing.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

equally old

This alternative offers a more concise and grammatically correct way to express that two things are of similar age.

just as ancient

This alternative emphasizes the shared antiquity without unnecessary repetition.

of similar antiquity

This is a more formal way to indicate that two things have comparable ancient origins.

comparably ancient

This option suggests that the age of the two items is alike or parallel.

of matching age

This provides a direct way of stating that two entities are the same age, particularly in a historical context.

correspondingly ancient

It implies that there's a direct or proportional relationship in the antiquity of the items being compared.

identically ancient

This suggests that the age of both subjects is exactly the same from a historical point of view.

akin in age

A more subtle way to express similarity in age, particularly fitting when discussing related subjects.

as old as each other

This phrase directly asserts the shared age or antiquity of two things.

similarly aged

This conveys that the items have a resemblance or are close in terms of their age or antiquity.

FAQs

What is wrong with the phrase "equally ancient equally"?

The repetition of "equally" is redundant and grammatically awkward. It's better to use a single "equally" or a phrase like "just as ancient" to convey the intended meaning more clearly.

How can I use "equally ancient" correctly in a sentence?

Use it to compare two things of similar age: "The artifacts from both civilizations are "equally ancient"." You don't need to repeat the word "equally".

What are some alternatives to "equally ancient equally"?

Consider using phrases like "just as ancient", "equally old", or "of similar antiquity". These options are more grammatically sound and convey the same meaning.

Is "equally ancient equally" ever appropriate to use?

No, the phrase "equally ancient equally" is grammatically incorrect and stylistically poor. There are no contexts where this phrasing would be considered appropriate in standard English.