italic

1 of 2

adjective

ital·​ic ə-ˈta-lik How to pronounce italic (audio)
i-,
ī-
1
a
: of or relating to a type style with characters that slant upward to the right (as in "these words are italic") compare roman
b
: of or relating to a style of slanted cursive handwriting developed in the 15th and 16th centuries
2
capitalized : of or relating to ancient Italy, its peoples, or their Indo-European languages

italic

2 of 2

noun

1
: an italic character or type
2
capitalized : a branch of the Indo-European language family that includes Latin, Oscan, and Umbrian see Indo-European Languages Table

Examples of italic in a Sentence

Noun These words are printed in italic. The type should be set in italics. These words are printed in italics.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Just to put a pin in it, highlight it, circle it, bold, italic, and underline that inversion. Nilay Patel, The Verge, 17 Jan. 2023 Researchers found that bolded text has a higher recall than text in italic or regular styles, regardless of the font size. Carla Delgado, Discover Magazine, 9 Oct. 2021 Unlike most contemporary rivals, Word is designed to be used with a mouse, and features the ability to undo typing and to display bold, italic, and underlined text. Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 20 Oct. 2022 Each hat includes the team’s nickname in big, bold italic letters and the team’s city in a lighter color and smaller, script font. cleveland, 28 Mar. 2022 The recognizable Marshall logo, with its white italic script, now graces a range of headphones, earphones as well as wireless speakers. Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2021 Nauman’s neon words, seven italic vices and seven vertical font virtues, flash intermittently and connect over one another around the Charles Lee Powell Structural Systems Laboratory building. Seth Combs, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Oct. 2021 Author's Note: All italic quotations are from Agassiz's Seaside Studies in Natural History (1865). Jessy Randall, Scientific American, 19 July 2021 Users can even apply italic, bold or light styling to letters and numbers without changing their alignment on spreadsheets. Josh Wagner, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2020
Noun
The words and phrases that the plaintiffs replaced with their own tendentious language are in italics. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2024 Below is a list of statements in italics made by Trump to the crowd of about 2,000 and livestreamed on C-SPAN that were fact-checked by auto experts. Detroit Free Press, 19 Feb. 2024 But printing something in italics, even a lot of times, doesn’t make it so. Diana Gitig, Ars Technica, 12 Nov. 2023 The revolutionary printing business introduced smaller books—similar to the size of today’s paperbacks—as well as the use of italics. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Aug. 2023 The body is round-shouldered, the cockpit is wide, the instruments are marked in italic typefaces, plastic interior details are shiny black—this from the company that, in the early Seventies, originated the fashion of flat-black trim instead of chrome. Patrick Bedard, Car and Driver, 19 Aug. 2023 Established in Venice in 1494, the Aldine Press is considered a precursor to contemporary publishing and pioneered things like italics and small paperback-like books. Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 11 Aug. 2023 Some sentences are presented to us in italics, as stage directions. Priscilla Gilman, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Aug. 2023 The italics are just suggestions, except that the average year-to-date does need to be updated. Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 1 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'italic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1676, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of italic was in 1598

Dictionary Entries Near italic

Cite this Entry

“Italic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/italic. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

italic

1 of 2 adjective
ital·​ic ə-ˈtal-ik How to pronounce italic (audio)
i-,
ī-
1
capitalized : of or relating to ancient Italy, its peoples, or their Indo-European languages
2
: of, relating to, or being a type style with characters that slant upward to the right (as in "these words are italic")

italic

2 of 2 noun
: an italic character or type

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