Italic

Pronunciation

• enPR: Ä­tălʹĭk, IPA: /ɪˈtælɪk/, /aɪˈtælɪk/

Alternative forms

• italick

Full definition of italic

Adjective

1. (typography, of a typeface or font) Designed to resemble a handwriting style developed in Italy in the 16th century.
2. (typography, of a typeface or font) Having letters that slant or lean to the right; oblique.The text was impossible to read: every other word was underlined or in a bold or italic font.

Usage notes

The sense of “oblique” is more recent, and still sometimes criticized, but is now by far the more common sense in everyday use.

Synonyms

• cursive
• oblique

Antonyms

• (oblique) upright

Derived terms

• italicize
• italics

Related terms

• roman
• boldface

Noun

1. (typography) A typeface in which the letters slant to the right.
• Names of vessels, as the Kearsarge or the Alabama, are frequently put in italic.
• ... ROBERT GRANJON, possibly in collaboration with CLAUDE GARAMOND, had created an italic which matched Garamond Roman.
2. An oblique handwriting style, such as used by Italian calligraphers of the Renaissance.
• Spenser uses two different scripts: an Elizabethan secretary hand for English texts, and an italic 'mixed' with secretary graphs for Latin texts ...