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Justyna Jupowicz-Kozak quote

Justyna Jupowicz-Kozak

CEO of Professional Science Editing for Scientists @ prosciediting.com

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less distortions

Grammar usage guide and real-world examples

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "less distortions" is not correct in standard written English.
The correct form would be "fewer distortions" since "distortions" is a countable noun. Example: "We aim to achieve fewer distortions in the final output of the audio recording."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

Science

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

6 human-written examples

This could be because DS produces less distortions than MVDR in reverberant environments.

By considering the pixel compensation during the multiple layer embedding, an optional predictor is designed to generate the most appropriate prediction error histogram, which results in less distortions at the same embedding rate.

It can therefore be argued that there is additionally a positive effect of the fusion approach to induce less distortions in the mapping phase supporting the overall processing chain.

The results are summarized in Tables 1 and 2. EMSE results indicate that the proposed VSS-GAL algorithm recovers the target signal power with much less distortions than both the VSS-NLMS algorithm and the VSS-GAL algorithm in [15].

Second, the impact on recognition accuracy in terms of receiver operating characteristics (ROCs) and equal error rate (EER) is validated, assuring that segmentation improvement indeed induces less distortions, which in the past has shown to be not necessarily indicated by better ground truth performance [6].

According to the obtained results shown in Section 3, the fact of co-transmitting through the channel nulls of a primary LTE channel brings as a consequence a high distortion on the primary communication, while co-transmitting over the LTE channel peaks causes less distortions.

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

53 human-written examples

(The higher the wattage, the less distortion when playing movies at high volume).

CR-39 is lighter, has less distortion than polycarbonate, and huh?—is even cheaper.

News & Media

The New Yorker

These two heat treatments are called martempering and austempering, and both result in even less distortion of the metal.

It offered less distortion and higher fidelity than its predecessor, the wobbly eight-track tape, a positively primitive format.

News & Media

The New York Times

Unlike unemployment, the rate of wage inflation requires less judgement and is subject to less distortion by such factors as inactivity.

News & Media

Independent
Show more...

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When aiming for grammatical accuracy, use "fewer distortions" instead of "less distortions" because "distortions" is a countable noun.

Common error

Avoid using "less" with countable nouns like "distortions". "Less" is typically used with uncountable nouns (e.g., "less noise"). Use "fewer" instead to ensure grammatical correctness.

Antonio Rotolo, PhD - Digital Humanist | Computational Linguist | CEO @Ludwig.guru

Antonio Rotolo, PhD

Digital Humanist | Computational Linguist | CEO @Ludwig.guru

Source & Trust

77%

Authority and reliability

3.8/5

Expert rating

Real-world application tested

Linguistic Context

The phrase "less distortions" functions as a comparative quantifier aiming to express a smaller quantity of distortions. However, it's grammatically flawed. Ludwig AI points out this error based on the fact that "distortions" is a countable noun.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

Science

75%

News & Media

22%

Formal & Business

0%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "less distortions" is used to express a smaller amount of distortions. However, it's grammatically incorrect, as highlighted by Ludwig AI, because "distortions" is a countable noun, therefore the correct form would be "fewer distortions". Ludwig examples show that despite being grammatically incorrect it is still commonly used in a scientific and technical contexts. For increased accuracy, consider alternatives such as "fewer distortions", "reduced distortions", or "minimized distortions".

FAQs

Is it correct to say "less distortions"?

No, it is not grammatically correct. The proper phrasing is "fewer distortions", as "distortions" is a countable noun.

What's the difference between "less distortions" and "fewer distortions"?

"Less" is used with uncountable nouns, while "fewer" is used with countable nouns. Since "distortions" can be counted, "fewer distortions" is grammatically correct.

How can I rephrase "less distortions" to sound more professional?

Consider using "reduced distortions" or "minimized distortions". These options provide grammatically sound alternatives.

What are some situations where I might aim for "fewer distortions"?

In audio engineering, image processing, or data transmission, engineers often strive for "fewer distortions" to enhance the quality and accuracy of the output.

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Source & Trust

77%

Authority and reliability

3.8/5

Expert rating

Real-world application tested

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