practically even

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "practically even" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe a situation where two things are almost equal or balanced, but not quite. Example: "The scores were practically even, with only a one-point difference between the two teams."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

9 human-written examples

Practically, even small values of lead to enough accuracy for the channel order approximation if there is a good synchronization.

EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking

"When it's the Yankees, Mets or Red Sox here, the crowd is practically even," he said of the emotional price the team pays for its better crowds.

Forbes

However, it is really difficult for the most of teachers to do that practically even though they almost spend all of their energy.

International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy

Due to the existence of error ϵ 2 r T α, τ the estimator c ^ 2 r α, τ is seldomly equal to zero practically, even if α is not a cycle frequency.

EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing

Practically, even though the formation and evolution of porosity are extremely complex, the ideal binary mixture model is able to simply describe the relationship between porosity and clay content for different clastic lithologies.

Petroleum Science

Practically, even if RBF classifiers usually converge faster than MLP in general during training, they are almost equivalent in terms of classification performance from a same knowledge representation of an information source.

Vietnam Journal of Computer Science

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

51 human-written examples

India's pharmaceutical companies complained that paragraph six was "practically inoperative" even before the latest safeguards were introduced.

The Economist

The driveway looked practically impassable, even for a 4 x 4. "They can afford to improve the roads," Ramón said.

The New Yorker

People stroll at all hours, car theft has practically stopped, even armed police officers are rarely seen.

The New York Times

Real German food doesn't have much of a reputation, and in Berlin it's practically ignored, even by natives.

The New York Times - Travel

As in other small towns across the United States, people here say neighbors are practically family, even in the good times.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "practically even", ensure the context clearly indicates the elements being compared are close to equality but not perfectly so. For instance, "the race was practically even until the final lap" specifies the temporal scope of the near equality.

Common error

Avoid using "practically even" when the elements are truly equal. Instead of saying "the two amounts were practically even", use "the two amounts were equal" for accuracy. This avoids misleading the reader about the actual relationship between the compared elements.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "practically even" functions as an adverbial modifier followed by an adjective. It qualifies the degree to which something is considered "even" or balanced, suggesting a state of near equality. Ludwig's examples show it describing quantities, spending, and emotional states.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

50%

Science

43%

Wiki

7%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Social Media

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "practically even" is a useful phrase for describing situations where elements are almost equal, but not perfectly so. Ludwig highlights its appearance across various domains, including news and scientific contexts. The phrase is grammatically correct and can be used to convey approximation, but, as Ludwig also points out, it should be avoided when absolute equality is intended. Alternatives like "almost equal" or "nearly identical" can be considered for subtle variations in emphasis.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

almost equal

Indicates a very slight difference, focusing on the degree of similarity.

virtually the same

Highlights the lack of a meaningful distinction.

nearly identical

Emphasizes a high level of resemblance.

substantially equivalent

Suggests equivalence in value or effect, despite minor differences.

tantamount to

Implies that something is effectively the same as something else in its consequence.

roughly equivalent

Highlights an estimation of equivalence.

more or less the same

Indicates that the similarity is not exact but close enough for practical purposes.

in effect equal

Focuses on functional equivalence, despite superficial differences.

for all intents and purposes equal

Highlights a legal or formal perspective where something is treated as equal.

effectively balanced

Emphasizes the resultant equilibrium or balance.

FAQs

How can I use "practically even" in a sentence?

Use "practically even" to describe scenarios where two or more things are nearly equal, but not exactly. For example, "After adjustments, the budget allocations for marketing and sales were "practically even"".

What are some alternatives to "practically even"?

You can use alternatives like "almost equal", "nearly identical", or "virtually the same" to convey a similar meaning, depending on the specific nuance you want to express.

Is it correct to say "practically even"?

Yes, it is correct to use "practically even". Ludwig confirms that the phrase is grammatically correct and used in various contexts. It effectively communicates a state of near equality.

What's the difference between "practically even" and "exactly equal"?

"Practically even" implies a slight difference or approximation, while "exactly equal" indicates precise equality. If the values are identical, use "exactly equal"; otherwise, use ""practically even"" to acknowledge the minor discrepancy.