I want an adjective that unambiguously distinguishes the following two graph types:
It can be a technical term, but hopefully I want a word which laypeople can easily understand.
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Which does the word "annual change" refer to, the red one or the blue one? Or is this word ambiguous? I initially thought this only refers to the blue one, but I found there is at least one page that uses this phrase in the sense of "within one specific year" (i.e., red). How much is this acceptable?
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Does "inter-annual change" unambiguously and safely refer to the blue one? This dictionary entry defines this word as "Measured or evaluated on a yearly basis", which I think perfectly matches the blue graph. But some native speakers seem to think "inter-annual" only means something like "in relation to a previous/next year" (i.e., 1995 vs 1996, 1996 vs 1997, and so on).
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How about "intra-annual"? Does this unambiguously and safely refer to the red one?
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What is the best word that unambiguously refers to the blue one as opposed to the red one?
(By the way, I think I know the basic difference between inter- and intra- as in internet/intranet.)
Best Answer
You could choose to use any of the following terms. All to me as a native speaker would imply the above.
Your suggestion of intra-annual would sound odd to many people, even if technically it's correct.