I was editing a document that summarized the research for a cancer drug. The writer had written:
Patients with stage III or IV disease often have a relapse.
I didn’t love it. What does that sentence really mean? While many words have multiple meanings, Merriam-Webster defines often in one way: “many times: FREQUENTLY.” So, strictly speaking, the writer was communicating:
Patients with stage III or IV disease frequently have a relapse.
OR
Patients with stage III or IV disease frequently relapse.
This means each patient in this group relapses repeatedly, which is certainly not impossible, but in the greater context of the specific disease and its progression, that didn’t make a lot of sense.
But the client flagged often for a different reason—they were concerned that often meant (or could be interpreted as) a majority of patients, as in:
A majority of patients with stage III or IV disease relapse.
This interpretation did not represent the research, either. And often does not mean majority, but that is somewhat beside the point if the client is interpreting the sentence this way.
So, what was the information that the writer was trying to communicate? Let’s go to the video tape (or, in this case, the publication being referenced). While the client’s interpretation of often was unrelated to the actual meaning of the word, it turns out that the writer’s usage of often was closer to the client’s interpretation than the actual meaning of the word, too! The original reference read:
A substantial proportion of patients with stage III or IV disease relapse.
In this case, data quantifying “a substantial proportion” were available in the referenced publication, so I suggested the writer report them.
One recent analysis determined 38.1% of patients with stage III or IV disease relapse.
In the final analysis, often should be used to describe frequency only, not proportion. Even better: Given all the confusion around often, best practice may be to use a different word, like frequently, or–even better–report specific data.