Learn English – alternative word/phrase means sort of/kind of in formal language

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Newspapers and magazines are printed media. These sorts of/kinds of media usually have a long publication cycle.

Sort of/kind of are both used in informal occasions according to the dictionary. So what's the formal word or phrase that has the same meaning as these two phrases, which can be used in above sentence?

Best Answer

What your dictionary is referring to (or should be referring to) as “informal” is not this use but the use of (a) sort of (a) or (a) kind of (a) as adverbs, meaning approximately “somewhat” or “rather”:

That's sort of a mean thing to say.
She's a kind of private person.
He sorta kinda twisted it like this and it popped right off!

Your use, where sort (or kind) is used as a frank noun, is acceptable in all registers.

But you do have to be careful about what sort or kind refers to. In your example, for instance, it’s not clear which of these you mean:

  • all print∗ media have a long production cycle, or
  • newspapers and magazines, unlike other print media, have long production cycles.

Your use of the plural suggests the latter, but I suspect you mean the former. If that is the case you should recast so that sort (or kind) is in the singular, which in this context can only refer to print:

This sort of medium usually has a long production cycle.
Media of this sort usually have a long production cycle.

Better still is to be completely unambiguous:

Print media usually have a long production cycle.

∗ Note that the medium of publication is print; only the product is properly referred to as printed: a “printed” book, as opposed to a handwritten book or ebook.

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