ideogram

ideo·gram | \ ˈi-dē-ə-ˌgram

How to pronounce ideogram (audio)

, ˈī- \

Definition of ideogram

1 : a picture or symbol used in a system of writing to represent a thing or an idea but not a particular word or phrase for it especially : one that represents not the object pictured but some thing or idea that the object pictured is supposed to suggest

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Examples of ideogram in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Much like the previous set introduced last year, Emoji 13.0 promotes inclusion and diversity, with ideograms of gender-neutral brides and grooms, Santa Claus, and bottle-feeding parents in various skin tones. — cleveland, "New emoji for 2020 include ninjas, the Italian hand gesture and gender-inclusive symbols," 30 Jan. 2020 Luxurious hotels, casinos, and nightclubs merge with gray buildings, European remains, and Taoist temples, in a city full of ideogram signs, and unmistakable smells and sounds. — Popular Science, "The world’s most thrilling motorcycle race, in photos," 21 Jan. 2020 Spanish filled the airwaves; the ideograms and characters of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and other Asian languages covered the store signs, sparking an angry nativist movement. — Héctor Tobar, The New Yorker, "The Assassin Next Door," 22 July 2019 Derived from an ancient African writing system, the ideograms are an Ekpuk trademark. — Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, "This free, D.C.-wide festival includes an interactive selfie installation and a traveling art barge," 13 June 2019 And while there are tiny web and smartphones ideograms for everything from soup to nuts, there are very few that are specifically Jewish. — Marcy Oster, sun-sentinel.com, "Organization is working to make a Torah emoji happen," 5 June 2019 Emojis might be connected in some respects to Egyptian hieroglyphs or Chinese ideograms. — Crispin Sartwell, WSJ, "Texting and Twitter Make This a Golden Age for the Written Word," 22 Sep. 2017 The emoji is heir to a tradition of pictographic writing stretching back millennia to Egyptian hieroglyphics and the ideograms used to write Chinese and Japanese. — Washington Post, "AP Interview: Japan’s emoji creator saw nuance in pictures," 21 Sep. 2017 There, Chinese kites shaped like Buzz Lightyear and Slinky Dog hung from the ceiling; Chinese ideograms identified the different kinds of pastry. — Julie Lasky, New York Times, "At Shanghai Disney Resort, Mulan, Mickey and Dumplings," 4 July 2017

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

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Last Updated

11 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Ideogram.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ideogram. Accessed 17 Feb. 2020.

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