ideogram

noun ideo·gram \ ˈi-dē-ə-ˌgram , 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

2 :logogram

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ideogramic

or ideogrammic play \ˌi-dē-ə-ˈgra-mik, ˌī-\ adjective

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ideogrammatic

play \ˌi-dē-ō-grə-ˈma-tik, ˌī-\ adjective

See ideogram defined for kids

Recent Examples of ideogram from the Web

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
Of getting lost in who people think you are!’ A prizefighter’s journey is an existentialist ideogram for life, and the real fight, the real fifteen rounds, occurs in the heart, at home.

— tad friend, The New Yorker, "Liev Schreiber Finds the Heart of Chuck Wepner," 22 May 2017
No, not changing in a way that means the language is abandoning the alphabet and regressing back to ideograms—

— nick stockton, WIRED, "Emoji—Trendy Slang or a Whole New Language?," 24 June 2015

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.