italic

adjective ital·ic \ ə-ˈta-lik , i- , ī- \

Updated on: 5 Apr 2018

Definition of italic

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

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See italic defined for kids

Recent Examples of italic from the Web

The New York Times sent out a breaking news alert and threw a bold, italic headline across its front page announcing the potential change in policy.

— tina nguyen, The Hive, "Donald Trump Dupes the Media with Another Immigration Head Fake," 1 Mar. 2017
In each case, the subtitle appears in bold or italic, followed by a short paragraph in plain text describing the scope and results of the project.

— amy lindgren, Twin Cities, "Working Strategies: Making strategic use of optional résumé sections," 28 Jan. 2017
The italic angle conveys forward motion, innovation, and progress.

— derek hawkins, chicagotribune.com, "PayPal says Pandora latched onto its brand with new, similar logo," 24 May 2017
The New York Times sent out a breaking news alert and threw a bold, italic headline across its front page announcing the potential change in policy.

— tina nguyen, The Hive, "Donald Trump Dupes the Media with Another Immigration Head Fake," 1 Mar. 2017

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

First Known Use of italic

1598

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

italic

noun

Definition of italic

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

See italic defined for English-language learners

Examples of italic in a Sentence

These words are printed in italic.
The type should be set in italics.
These words are printed in italics.

Recent Examples of italic from the Web

In italics are overall admission rates for those schools: Brown: 13 of 34 admitted, 38 percent.

— nick anderson, Washington Post, "Fourteen of 15 into Stanford early: Eye-popping admission stats for low-income advising program," 27 Mar. 2018
If the Sooners had anyone in McCoy’s neighborhood playing last season, Georgia doesn’t average 9.3 yards a carry and that alternative timeline up there in italics might have come true.

— andy staples, SI.com, "Lincoln Riley Prepares to Lead Oklahoma Into Life After Baker Mayfield," 19 Mar. 2018
Here are some of Brown’s remarks, in bold italics, and my reactions.

— paul daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Doc: What Mike Brown doesn't understand, and never will," 22 Jan. 2018
The novel begins with the stories of three women and then, suddenly, the spirit of Jana Robinson, whose 15-year life ended in 2013, is told - her thoughts are written in italics.

— brian lisik/special to cleveland.com, cleveland.com, "Driver injured in head-on crash: Hinckley Police Blotter," 13 Feb. 2018
Other artists would have underlined it, put it in italics, made the detail the point.

— zachary woolfe, New York Times, "Review: The Radiant Modesty of Janine Jansen at Carnegie Hall," 8 Dec. 2017
Bold italics in the tables signify the coach’s first recruiting class at his current school.

— jordan mcpherson, ajc, "How potential Florida coaching targets fare on recruiting front," 10 Nov. 2017
The blur is punctuated by black humor and bratty italics—peppered with the names of luxury brands, designer products, and onomatopoetic cries of AUGGGH.

— katy waldman, Slate Magazine, "Glamorous Wounds," 24 Feb. 2017
MacLean, to her credit, never actually claims it is a quote, although a careless reader could be excused for thinking it was, given the first-person voice and the italics.

— james freeman, WSJ, "‘Historical Fiction’ at Duke," 19 Oct. 2017

First Known Use of italic

1676

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

ITALIC Defined for English Language Learners

italic

adjective

Definition of italic for English Language Learners

: having letters, numbers, etc., that slant upward to the right
Italic : of or relating to ancient Italy, the people who lived there, or the languages spoken there