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diacritic
noun
di·a·crit·ic
ˌdī-ə-?kri-tik
: a mark near or through an orthographic or phonetic character or combination of characters indicating a phonetic value different from that given the unmarked or otherwise marked element

Examples of diacritic in a Sentence
Two diacritics appear in the word “déjà vu.”
Recent Examples on the Web
The diacritics struck me as quite unusual for a European language.
—
The Dial, 17 Dec. 2024
The algorithm stumbled over the symbols that had a dot placed underneath or on the side, and the team used contextual analysis to deal with these diacritics.
—
Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 20 Mar. 2023
The floral patterns at the bottom of the logo as well as the football at the top both reference Qatari culture, while the dots either side of the football are actually Arabic diacritics.
—
SI.com, 3 Sep. 2019
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Word History
First Known Use
1866, in the meaning defined above
Articles Related to diacritic
Dictionary Entries Near diacritic
Cite this Entry
“Diacritic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diacritic. Accessed 10 Feb. 2025.
Kids Definition
diacritic
noun
di·a·crit·ic
ˌdī-ə-?krit-ik
More from Merriam-Webster on diacritic
Nglish: Translation of diacritic for Spanish Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about diacritic
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