fewer movement

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "fewer movement" is not correct in standard English; it should be "less movement." You can use "less movement" when referring to a reduction in the amount or degree of movement, typically in contexts related to physical activity or motion.
Example: "After the injury, she experienced less movement in her right arm."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

Science

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

6 human-written examples

The newer medicines caused fewer movement disorders, but had side effects of their own, including huge weight gain for many patients.

The New York Times

Animals with larger home ranges, which are also larger species, and animals more restricted by fences, had fewer movement scales.

Ecological Informatics

For bilateral arm reaching, participants after BATRAC were faster, with increased peak acceleration, fewer movement units, and smoother hand paths for each arm.

Human Movement Science

Encouragingly, when genetic techniques were used to reduce Gpr52 synthesis in a fruit fly model of Huntington's disease, the treated flies showed fewer movement impairments than flies that had not been treated.

eLife

One recent study investigated a reduction in movement restrictions following primary THA with the posterolateral approach and found that fewer movement restrictions did not affect the patient-reported outcomes after 6 weeks, and led to earlier return to work.

Acta Orthopaedica

First, middle-aged male NSG mice have less total locomotion and fewer movement bouts over the circadian day compared to young controls (we anecdotally observe that young NSG mice have less total locomotion and fewer locomotor bouts compared to young male C57BL/6 and BALB mice; data courtesy E.H. Goulding, Northwestern University).

Biology Open

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

53 human-written examples

In its final configuration, said Amedeo Felisa, Ferrari's chief executive, the plant will have 20percentt more work space than the one it replaces, and assembly teams will make 60percentt fewer movements to do the same tasks.

The New York Times

Though it's certainly not always the case, I've observed that women tend to bogart the cardio machines, largely avoid resistance training particularly resistance training that targets the upper body and often perform fewer movements but at higher volumes.

Vice

However, the dlk-1 ju476 dlk-1 ju4765597) double mutant exhibited fewer movements than the dlk-1 single mutant.

eLife

There were better attention scores and fewer movements in children while on-medication.

BMC Psychiatry

However, the dlk-1; ptrn-1 double mutant exhibited fewer movements than the dlk-1 single mutant.

eLife

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Always use "less movement" instead of "fewer movement". "Movement" is generally considered an uncountable noun in this context, so "less" is the grammatically correct choice.

Common error

Avoid using "fewer" with uncountable nouns like "movement". "Fewer" is for countable nouns. Instead, use "less" to describe a smaller amount of something that cannot be counted individually.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "fewer movement" functions as a noun phrase intended to quantify a reduction in motion. However, it's grammatically incorrect because "movement" is typically treated as an uncountable noun. As Ludwig AI notes, the correct form is "less movement."

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

Science

50%

News & Media

33%

Wiki

17%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Formal & Business

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

While the phrase "fewer movement" appears in various sources, including news and scientific articles, it is grammatically incorrect. "Movement" is generally considered an uncountable noun, so the correct phrase is "less movement". Ludwig AI points out this grammatical distinction. When aiming for clarity and grammatical accuracy, especially in formal writing, opt for "less movement" or alternatives like "reduced movement" or "decreased movement".

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

less movement

This is the grammatically correct alternative using "less" for uncountable nouns like "movement".

reduced movement

This alternative uses an adjective to describe the state of movement, implying a decrease.

decreased movement

Similar to "reduced movement", this uses a different adjective to indicate a decline in motion.

diminished movement

This phrase suggests a weaker or lessened degree of movement.

lessened movement

Synonymous with "reduced" or "decreased", indicating a smaller amount of movement.

restricted movement

This implies that the movement is limited or confined in some way.

limited movement

Similar to "restricted movement", indicating a constraint on motion.

impaired movement

This phrase suggests that the movement is negatively affected or damaged.

constrained movement

This suggests a force or factor is limiting the natural movement.

slower movement

This focuses on the speed of the movement being reduced.

FAQs

How to correct the phrase "fewer movement" in a sentence?

Replace "fewer movement" with "less movement". The word "movement" is generally treated as an uncountable noun, requiring the use of "less".

What does "fewer movement" mean?

While grammatically incorrect, "fewer movement" is often used to describe a reduction in the amount or degree of motion. A correct alternative is "less movement".

Is it ever correct to use "fewer" with nouns related to physical activity?

Yes, if you're referring to specific, countable instances of movement, such as "fewer steps" or "fewer gestures". However, for the general concept of motion, use "less movement".

What are some alternatives to "fewer movement" to describe reduced motion?

Besides "less movement", you can use phrases like "reduced movement", "decreased movement", or "diminished movement" depending on the specific context.