“Biannual” is a confusing word, and most often does not clarify meaning for your readers. If a report is issued biannually, does this mean one receives it twice a year or every two years?
Even a careful study of root meaning does not shed much light. Consider these two excellent sources:
biannual • \bye-AN-yuh-wul\ • adjective
1. : occurring twice a year
2. : occurring every two yearsExample Sentence:
The report recommended that we begin conducting a more frequent annual safety review rather than our current biannual review.Did you know?
When we describe something as “biannual,” we can mean either that it occurs twice a year or that it occurs once every two years. So how does someone know which particular meaning we have in mind? Well, unless we provide them with a contextual clue, they don’t. Some people prefer to use “semiannual” to refer to something that occurs twice a year, reserving “biannual” for things that occur once every two years. This practice is hardly universal among English speakers, however, and “biannual” remains a potentially ambiguous word. Fortunately, English also provides us with “biennial,” a word that specifically refers to something that occurs every two years or that lasts or continues for two years.
The Columbia Guide for Standard English:
The bi- prefix on biannual “divides into two,” so that biannual usually means “twice a year.” Biennial comes from a Latin word whose prefix bi- meant “two,” so biennial means “every two years,” as in a biennium, “a two-year period.” Semiannual also means “every half year,” or “twice a year.” Biannual is almost a hopeless case, conveying only the idea of two, but not specifying when; semiannual is a little more helpful, suggesting as it does “half-yearly.” Make certain that context makes your meaning clear, no matter which word you use; in fact, given the potential for confusion, half-yearly and two-yearly may be better than any of these.
Solution:
In business writing, clarity is critical. So, instead of using the ambiguous term “biannual,” simply clarify your meaning:
- Reports will be issued twice a year.
- Reports will be issued every two years.
Remember, in business writing, one should write to express, not to impress. Use the descriptor that most accurately conveys meaning for your reader. Avoiding ambiguous terms helps your reader know exactly what to expect.
Learn More in This Course: Business Grammar: Error-Free Writing
