italic

1 of 2

adjective

ital·​ic ə-ˈta-lik 

i-,

ī-

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

italic

2 of 2

noun

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

Examples of italic in a Sentence

Noun

These words are printed in italic.

The type should be set in italics.

These words are printed in italics.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

However, although font sizes, boldface, italic, and underlining were supported, colors (and, additionally, font sizes) were still selected by traditional Mac pulldown menus. —Cameron Kaiser, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025

Just to put a pin in it, highlight it, circle it, bold, italic, and underline that inversion. —Nilay Patel, The Verge, 17 Jan. 2023

Noun

However, although font sizes, boldface, italic, and underlining were supported, colors (and, additionally, font sizes) were still selected by traditional Mac pulldown menus in this version. —Cameron Kaiser, ArsTechnica, 19 Sep. 2025

Below, a full list of this year's winners, in italics. —Esme Fox, NBC news, 14 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1676, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for italic

• metallic
• alack
• gallic
• hallock
• malic
• malik
• phallic
• salic
• sialic
• bimetallic
• nonmetallic
• brachycephalic

Kids Definition

italic

1 of 2 adjective

ital·​ic ə-ˈtal-ik 

i-,

ī-

1

capitalized : of or relating to ancient Italy, its peoples, or their Indo-European languages

2

: of, relating to, or being a type style with characters that slant upward to the right (as in "these words are italic")

italic

2 of 2 noun

: an italic character or type