What tag should be used for specific values in a generic message (e.g. “Do you want to delete <tag>ABC</tag>?”)?

Question

Let's say I have a generic message, such as

Do you want to delete {object} from {environment}?

I want to emphasise non-generic parts (object/environment).
Currently I use <em> , but it is missing any semantics over why this is emphasised, so the emphasis becomes more stylistic than semantic.

Is there a better choice — some tag where this is defined as explicit use case?

Answer 1

You could go with the strong tag. The strong tag indicates strong importance for the enclosed text. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/strong

Answer 2

I think the b element is appropriate here.

It is for "text to which attention is being drawn", "without conveying any extra importance and with no implication of an alternate voice or mood".

I don't think the strong element is appropriate; it might be for the whole warning , but not specifically for the name of the thing that gets deleted. And neither is the em element , as there is no emphasis involved.

In some cases, depending on the actual content, elements like abbr , a and cite might be used, too, but this would be in addition , not as alternative.