acrostic

noun

acros·tic | \ ə-ˈkrȯ-stik

How to pronounce acrostic (audio)

, -ˈkrä- \

Definition of acrostic

1 : a composition usually in verse in which sets of letters (such as the initial or final letters of the lines) taken in order form a word or phrase or a regular sequence of letters of the alphabet

2 : acronym

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Other Words from acrostic

acrostic or less commonly acrostical \ ə-ˈkrȯ-sti-kəl

, -ˈkrä- \ adjective

acrostically \ ə-ˈkrȯ-sti-k(ə-)lē

, -ˈkrä- \ adverb

Examples of acrostic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web All in all, every enjoyable aspect of solving an acrostic is well represented. — Caitlin Lovinger, New York Times, "Variety: Acrostic," 3 Mar. 2020 Each land contains a group of puzzles that range from crosswords and acrostics to cryptograms and engineering problems. — Andrew Hetherington, Popular Mechanics, "Pancakes, Euphoria, and a Robot Parade: Inside MIT's Grueling Puzzle Competition," 12 Mar. 2020 An acrostic is typically a literary technique in which the first letters of the lines of a poem spell out a message. — BostonGlobe.com, "A Tufts University student may have discovered a secret message hidden in a 352-year-old English poetry classic,," 6 Nov. 2019 The new acrostic is one of many scattered throughout Milton’s text. — Meilan Solly, Smithsonian, "Student Discovers Secret Acrostic in Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’," 19 Sep. 2019 Drew, a twentysomething educator living in Florida, did just that, charming his matches with poems that were also acrostics spelling out such Tinder-favorite pickup lines as SEND NUDES and WANNA SMASH. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "Why Facebook banned Alex Jones — and Twitter didn’t," 11 Aug. 2018 Some contained complicated puzzles, acrostics, and rebuses (pictures that represent words or parts of words). — Marilyn Yalom, Time, "How the Modern Valentine's Day Card Evolved," 14 Feb. 2018 Two: The acrostics are a distraction, overshadowing the letters’ primary message. — Dino Grandoni, Washington Post, "The Energy 202: Here's the bottom line on the Energy Department's grid study," 24 Aug. 2017 Two: The acrostics are a distraction, overshadowing the letters’ primary message. — Dino Grandoni, Washington Post, "The Energy 202: Here's the bottom line on the Energy Department's grid study," 24 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'acrostic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Acrostic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acrostic. Accessed 5 May. 2021.

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