tilde

noun

til·​de ˈtil-də 

1

: a mark ˜ placed especially over the letter n (as in Spanish señor sir) to denote the sound \nʸ\ or over vowels (as in Portuguese irmã sister) to indicate nasality

2

a

: the mark used to indicate negation in logic and the geometric relation "is similar to" in mathematics

b

: the mark used to indicate an approximate value

Examples of tilde in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The list of ironists is hard to pin down, but Slate’s Josh Greenman resurrected the upside-down exclamation point (¡), and typographer Choz Cunningham, among others, suggested using a period followed by a tilde to tell readers that a sentence should be read beyond its literal meaning. —Casey Fedde, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Mar. 2023

When the marketing department scratched a highlighter yellow tilde over the N in NFL Thursday to commemorate the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month, the NFL— excuse me — the ÑFL accomplished its goal. —Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY, 16 Sep. 2022

National in Spanish is nacional, which does not use the tilde. —Victoria Hernandez, USA TODAY, 17 Oct. 2022

The tilde is featured in the logos of organizations such as the Instituto Cervantes, which promotes the study and use of Spanish, and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. —Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY, 16 Sep. 2022

For example, Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. – a native of Venezuela – spells his last name with a tilde over the letter N. Since there’s no equivalent in the English alphabet, the easy thing is to use an N instead. —Steve Gardner, USA TODAY, 15 June 2020

Even after correctly matching the United States’ 31 Washington Counties to their correct states, there’s a very good chance that the two sources do not agree on whether Doña Ana County, N.M. really needs that tilde. —Chris Wilson, Time, 20 Sep. 2019

One general principle is that communication leans toward the efficient, so any extra markings (sarcastic tildes, for instance, or a period where a line break will do) telegraph that there’s more to the message than its literal import. —Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 26 July 2019

The logo for Calibra and its digital wallet will feature a single tilde. —Kevin Kelleher, Fortune, 20 June 2019

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, from Medieval Latin titulus tittle

First Known Use

circa 1864, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

tilde

noun

til·​de ˈtil-də 

: a mark ˜ placed especially over the letter n (as in Spanish señor) to indicate a sound that is approximately \ny\