Which HTML tag is used to italicize text?

The tag used to italicize text in HTML is the tag. This tag specifically denotes that the enclosed text should be displayed in an italicized format. It is often used to emphasize certain words or phrases in a way that is visually distinct from regular text.

While other options might seem related, they serve different purposes. The tag is used to make text bold, the tag is meant to indicate that text is of strong importance (which typically renders it in bold), and the tag denotes emphasized text, which is usually rendered in italic but carries a semantic meaning of emphasis. The distinction between these tags lies in both their visual representation and their semantic significance in the structure of HTML documents. The tag is the straightforward choice for simply italicizing text without imparting additional meaning.