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It is well known that you can make the font italic or bold using \textit{} or \textbf{}. However, if I have an italic or bold font, what command can I use to make it nonitalic or nonbold?

kolonel
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2 Answers2

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You can use \normalfont

\documentclass{book}
\begin{document}
 \textit{Some italic and {\normalfont non italic} text}

 \textbf{Some bold and {\normalfont non bold} text}

 \emph{Some italic and {\normalfont non italic} text}
\end{document}

enter image description here

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    Why don;t you just use \textnormal{...} instead of using {\normalfont ...}? – daleif Jan 28 '15 at 09:19
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    You may want to mention that using {\normalfont ...} does not insert an automatic italics correction at the transition from the italic to the upright font shape. In contrast, using an inner \emph{...} instruction, a \textup{...} instruction, or a \textnormal{...} instruction (but not an inner {\em ...} construct) generate an automatic italics correction. – Mico Jan 28 '15 at 09:27
  • @daleif what is the difference? – lucidbrot Oct 02 '18 at 20:05
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    @lucidbrot easier to read – daleif Oct 03 '18 at 05:41
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    @lucidbrot - In addition, the \textnormal{...} approach takes care to insert italics corrections as needed; the {\normalfont ...} does not. – Mico Feb 10 '19 at 19:43
  • I wasn't able to use \normalfont to say "make this local piece of text bold but not italic"; In contrast, using textup as @Mico suggested removes italic without blocking bold. – MRule Aug 03 '22 at 14:31
77

For the purpose of this discussion, I will assume that you use either \textbf{...} or {\bfseries ...} to generate bold text, and either \textit{...}, \emph{...}, or {\itshape ...} to generate italic text. These methods can be combined to get bold italic text, viz., \textbf{\textit{...}} or {\bfseries\itshape ...}.

  • To cancel/override just the italic font shape, while leaving the (bold or non-bold) font weight unchanged, use either \textup{...} or {\upshape ...}:

      \textit{Some italic and some \textup{non italic} text}

    {\itshape Some italic and some {\upshape non italic} text}

    The \emph{...} method can be nested:

      \emph{Some italic and some \emph{non italic} text}

    Note that whereas the \textit{...} and \emph{...} methods take care to insert a so-called italic correction in the transitions from italic to non-italic text, the {\upshape ...} method does not.

  • To override just the bold font weight, while leaving the (italic or upright) font shape unchanged, use either \textmd{...} or {\mdseries ...}:

      \textbf{Some bold and some \textmd{non bold} text}

    {\bfseries Some bold and some {\mdseries non bold} text}

  • To force both normal font weight and normal font shape simultaneously, the preceding methods can be combined. Unless the font face default has been reset earlier (to \ttfamily or \sffamily, say; see the comment by @JonathanLandrum below), one can also use either \textnormal{...} or {\normalfont ...} to force both normal font weight and shape:

      \textbf{\textit{Some bold-italic, \textmd{non-bold italic}, \textup{non-italic bold}, and \textmd{\textup{{upright\slash non-bold} text}}.}

    {\itshape\bfseries Some bold-italic, {\mdseries non-bold italic}, {\upshape non-italic bold}, and {\mdseries\upshape upright\slash non-bold} text.}

The results generated by these methods are illustrated in the following MWE:

enter image description here

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{geometry}
\begin{document}

Some normal, i.e., upright and non-bold, text.


\medskip
\textit{Some italic and some \textup{upright} text.}


\emph{Some italic and some \emph{upright} text.}


{\itshape Some italic and some {\upshape upright} text.}


\medskip
\textbf{Some bold and some \textmd{non-bold} text.}


{\bfseries Some bold and some {\mdseries non-bold} text.}


\medskip
\textbf{\textit{Some bold-italic, \textmd{non-bold italic}, \textup{non-italic bold}, and \textmd{\textup{upright\slash non-bold}} text}.}


{\itshape\bfseries Some bold-italic, {\mdseries non-bold italic}, {\upshape non-italic bold}, and {\mdseries\upshape upright\slash non-bold} text.}


\end{document}
Mico
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    It should be noted that \normalfont will change the font face, as well, whereas the combination of \upshape and \mdseries will not. So if you are using this in combination with, for example, \ttfamily, the effect will be undone by the latter use of \normalfont. – Jonathan E. Landrum Aug 12 '20 at 01:45
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    @JonathanLandrum - Many thanks for pointing out this inaccuracy in my answer. I've updated the answer to fix it. – Mico Aug 12 '20 at 05:01
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    May also be worth noting that \mdseries/\textmd will also reser xondensed/extended/etc. and \upshape/\textup will also reset small caps, unless you also load fontaxes. – Davislor Aug 12 '20 at 14:25