TeXipedia

textellipsis

Represents a horizontal ellipsis (three dots) in regular text mode, providing a professional typographical alternative to typing multiple periods.

Overview

Produces a properly spaced horizontal ellipsis that maintains consistent spacing and alignment within regular text, making it ideal for indicating omitted content or trailing thoughts.

  • Commonly used in quotations to indicate omitted text
  • Preferred in professional typography over typing three consecutive periods
  • Maintains proper spacing between dots regardless of font or size
  • Often appears in academic writing, literature citations, and formal documents
  • Different from \dots which is primarily used in mathematical contexts

Examples

Indicating omitted text in a mathematical sequence.

x1,x2,x3,…,xnx_1, x_2, x_3, \text{\textellipsis}, x_n 
x_1, x_2, x_3, \text{\textellipsis}, x_n

Showing truncation in a long equation.

f(x)=1+x+x22!+x33!+…f(x) = 1 + x + \frac{x^2}{2!} + \frac{x^3}{3!} + \text{\textellipsis} 
f(x) = 1 + x + \frac{x^2}{2!} + \frac{x^3}{3!} + \text{\textellipsis}

Denoting continuation in a matrix.

(a11a12…a21a22…)\begin{pmatrix} a_{11} & a_{12} & \text{\textellipsis} \\ a_{21} & a_{22} & \text{\textellipsis} \end{pmatrix} 
\begin{pmatrix} a_{11} & a_{12} & \text{\textellipsis} \\ a_{21} & a_{22} & \text{\textellipsis} \end{pmatrix}