moreso

See also: more so

English

Etymology 1

Adjective

moreso (not comparable)

  1. Nonstandard spelling of more so.
    • 1969, Nels Anderson, “The Uses and Worth of Language”, in Nels Anderson, editor, Studies in Multilingualism, E. J. Brill, page 1:
      Food and other essential resources are limited, and are likely to become moreso.
    • 1997, Hana S. Noor Al-Deen, Cross-Cultural Communication and Aging in the United States, page 30:
      We grow more like ourselves in our past, only moreso.
    • 2000, Conrad Totman, A History of Japan, page 337:
      Consequently, he concluded, new arrangements are necessary and will become moreso in future.
    • 2004, Jeffrey B. Little, Understanding Wall Street, page 140:
      The investment environment in the seven years immediately preceding the 1987 crash was as favorable, if not moreso, than the years prior to the 1929 crash.
Usage notes

Though it is frequent in informal writing, some arbiters of English usage[1][2][3] consider “moreso” an incorrect form of “more so”, sometimes citing the fact that in many cases the "so" is included tautologically, and the word “more” is all that is needed.

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adverb

moreso (not comparable)

  1. (colloquial, likely proscribed) more than anything/anything else, rather [from the 2020s c.?]
    Though it did add some cool new QoL features, last week's was moreso a balance update.
    [...] last week's was more than anything else a balance update.
    It's not quite he got angry and then left, it's moreso he got frustrated and then left.
Usage notes

This term has been exploding in use since at least 2020, and has been used on countless occasions across informal media (YouTube videos, Reddit posts, text messages over Discord), although it has often gone unacknowledged. It is clearly used as an adverb, although the etymology would then be unclear. There also exists an analogous, opposite in use, less so, possibly spawned by the use of 'moreso'.

Alternative forms

See also

References

  1. ^ moreso, from Common Errors in English Usage, by Paul Brians
  2. ^ More so, from Guide to Grammar and Style, by Jack Lynch
  3. ^ Furthermore, inasmuch as...., from The Word Detective, by Evan Morris

Anagrams

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