10 Underused Punctuation Marks That Are Worth Using

There are about nine common, widely-used English punctuation marks. The period, comma, question mark, exclamation point, parentheses, colon, hyphen, apostrophe, and quotation marks are the most common, best-established punctuation marks in English. Some people might say those are the only punctuation marks we need. However, limiting ourselves to the most common punctuation marks restricts our options.

(10 Most Important Comma Usage Rules.)

There's a somewhat wider variety of underused and frequently ignored punctuation marks. Some of those uncommon punctuation marks might be a little misunderstood as variations of the more common ones. A few less-well-established punctuation marks aren't even included on standard QWERTY keyboards. These are 10 underused punctuation marks that you should consider using at least a little more often.

The forward slash punctuation mark shares the same keyboard key as the question mark but is seldom used. Its primary punctuation purpose is to separate alternatives. In that respect, the forward slash can be considered an indicator for the word or, which makes it quite flexible.

Here are some usage examples of the forward slash to indicate or:

The forward slash is used for dates and fractions. For example, October 28, 2025, is a date in text form. The alternative numerical format for that date, with forward slashes included, is: 10/28/2015.

The em dash is a punctuation mark that indicates a longer (stronger) pause than a comma but shorter than a period. It represents a big break in the middle or end of a sentence and can be used to set off or introduce additional information, as an alternative to parentheses. However, it might be precisely because of the parentheses that the em dash is underused.

These examples show how we can include em dashes:

Another possible reason the em dash is underused is that there isn't a key for entering it on standard QWERTY keyboards. You can enter an em dash by copying and pasting it from the Character Map tool on Windows PCs. Mac users can enter an em dash by simultaneously pressing the Option and hyphen key.

The interrobang punctuation mark dates back to the 1960s but has never become well-established. An interrobang is an exclamation point and question mark wrapped into one, which serves a useful purpose. Such a punctuation mark is ideal for combining questions and exclamations.

So, why aren't you using the interrobang a little more‽

Again, the omission of an interrobang key from standard keyboards might be the most obvious answer to that question. We must copy and paste the interrobang from special character tools to enter it. So, it's quicker and easier to enter exclamation points and question marks separately (as !?) rather than input the interrobang.

The semicolon isn't as uncommon as some of the other punctuation marks discussed here, but it's still frequently overlooked nonetheless. Its primary purpose is to connect closely related independent clauses without the coordinating conjunctions of and, but, or, for, nor, yet, and so. A semicolon connects two clauses that could be separate sentences without a conjunction in between them, as in these examples:

A big reason the semicolon is overlooked is that we can use commas to separate independent clauses. For all the examples above, commas can replace the semicolons with but or and added between them. Nevertheless, the semicolons provide a more flexible alternative way to connect two independent clauses.

Although the manicule might be considered more of a typographical symbol, it is also a punctuation mark seldom used today. The manicule is a pointing finger and hand popularly used for highlighting significant passages of text in book margins, newspapers, and posters. It frequently appeared in books and manuscripts dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries.

There is still a place for the manicule in the digital era of publishing. For example, you can use them to draw attention to hyperlinks, subheadings, or other significant passages of text on website pages or blog posts. Alternatively, use manicules for lists rather than the more traditional bullet points.

The en dash punctuation is a dash that's slightly longer than a hyphen but shorter than the em dash. It is a punctuation mark you should use for date and number ranges. For example, the date range for World War I is 1914–1918. You can also use the en dash for clock time ranges, such as 6–9 p.m., for example.

The hyphen is probably the biggest reason why the en dash is undersued. Without a standard en dash keyboard key available, many people may use the hyphen for dates, times, and numerical ranges, rather than the en dash. That is perhaps understandable, and I confess I have done the same. However, the en dash is the correct punctuation mark for numerical, date, and time ranges.

The ampersand, which you can enter by pressing Shift + 7, is a punctuation and typographical mark that represents the word "and." It is perhaps misunderstood because some people might wonder when and why the ampersand would be more preferable to and. It is generally more preferable not to use the ampersand over an and for clarity's sake.

Yet, there are times when we should use ampersands. We should use ampersands for film, product, company, and brand names that include them. For example, you can eat M&M's chocolates, which aren't called M and M's! It's better to include ampersands for commonly abbreviated word pairings like Q & A (questions and answers), B & B (bed and breakfast), and R & D (research and development. Ampersands can also be handy for lists that include single items with word combinations, such as salt & vinegar, cheese & onion, and beef & onion crisps.

The asterisk is an underused punctuation mark you can enter by pressing Shift + 8 on your keyboard. That starry-like punctuation mark is a good one for adding footnotes to more formal documents. Add the asterix punctuation to the end of a sentence, for which you can introduce a footnote at the bottom of the document with an asterix mark.

You can also use the asterisk for more general clarifications and disclaimers beyond footnotes, as in this example:

The bingo session will be at 2 p.m. on July 18.* Purchase your admission packet to win the $500 bingo jackpot.

*Single participants must be aged 18 or over.

[Editor's note: The symbol in the header above is a star (with 5 points), not an asterisk (with 6 points); unfortunately, our site's heading font does not appear to include the asterisk, though it appears correctly in the body copy above.]

The bracket punctuation mark is a square alternative to parentheses that has a distinct purpose. You should use brackets to add additional explanatory details to quoted passages. Add brackets to include additional explanation in quotes where needed, as in this example, "The boss [Mr. Johnson] said he was entirely opposed to the proposed company merger."

The parentheses are used for adding non-essential extra information to sentences. Thus, it's easy to mix up brackets with parentheses for the purpose of adding additional details to passages. Remember to use brackets rather than parentheses for adding clarification to quoted content.

Although braces are much more prevalent in mathematics, they are also an underused English punctuation mark. The braces punctuation mark, which shares the bracket keyboard keys, can also be considered a variation of the parentheses. You can use braces to clarify a set of things, places, or persons within sentences, like in the following examples:

Note that content within braced brackets highlights sets rather than lists, so they don't include and before the final things, as lists would. Again, some people might use parentheses for clarifying group sets as above. However, the specific function of the braces punctuation mark is to group a set. So, it's a punctuation mark you can use for that purpose.

Those are some of the most underappreciated English punctuation marks that get frequently ignored. Using those less conventional punctuation marks discussed above will give you greater flexibility. You can enhance the clarity, precision, and style of your article or book content by embracing those punctuation marks.