Deep-Rooted vs. Deep-Seated vs. Deep-Seeded (Grammar Rules)
Learn when to use deep-rooted vs. deep-seated vs. deep-seeded in your writing with Grammar Rules from the Writer’s Digest editors, including a couple examples.
There are some terms used so frequently and interchangeably by people and organizations that it's easy to believe they're all real terms. And I admit, when I first started investigating this grammar rule that I thought I'd learn when it's most appropriate to use each term.
However, when it comes to "deep-rooted," "deep-seated," and "deep-seeded," only two are real terms. The other is an impostor. So let's take a look at which are the real terms and when to use each.
Deep-Rooted vs. Deep-Seated vs. Deep-Seeded
Deep-rooted is an adjective that describes someone or something that is deeply implanted or established. For instance, someone might say that playing the national anthem before sporting competitions is a deep-rooted tradition.
Deep-seated is an adjective that has two different meanings. In one instance, it can describe something that's beneath the surface, like a "deep-seated pain." In the other instance, "deep-seated" describes something that is firmly established. Often, this version is used to describe a rule, tradition, or opinion.
Deep-seeded, on the other hand, is the impostor term. While deeply planting a seed definitely creates a good visual, it's not the term people mean to use when they use (unless maybe they're discussing farming or March Madness college basketball brackets and seeding).
Here are a couple examples of deep-rooted vs. deep-seated vs. deep-seeded:
Correct: There was so much deep-rooted animosity between the negotiators that they couldn't even come to a consensus on what day to meet.
Correct: There was so much deep-seated animosity between the negotiators that they couldn't even come to a consensus on what day to meet.
Incorrect: There was so much deep-seeded animosity between the negotiators that they couldn't even come to a consensus on what day to meet.
Correct: Sarah told her doctor about a deep-seated pain in her thigh.
Incorrect: Sarah told her doctor about a deep-rooted pain in her thigh.
Incorrect: Sarah told her doctor about a deep-seeded pain in her thigh.
For the most part, deep-rooted and deep-seated can be used interchangeably, but deep-seeded should not be used. While seeds can be planted deep, it's not until they take root that they become firmly established.
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Sometimes, the best way to improve your writing is to go back to basics, to revisit the things you should have been paying attention to in your high school English classes (we won’t tell!). Whether you’re writing freelance articles for publications, editing your novel draft, or trying to write more professional emails, the Writer’s Digest Guide to Better Writing offers more than 50 techniques, strategies, and grammar rules with practical, real-world examples to help improve your writing.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
