Synonyms

diacritical

American

[dahy-uh-krit-i-kuhl] / ˌdaɪ əˈkrɪt ɪ kəl /

adjective

serving to distinguish; distinctive.
capable of distinguishing.
Phonetics. serving as a diacritic.

diacritical British

/ ˌdaɪəˈkrɪtɪkəl /

adjective

of or relating to a diacritic
showing up a distinction

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

diacritically adverb

Etymology

Origin of diacritical

First recorded in 1740–50; diacritic + -al ¹

Vocabulary lists containing diacritical

Dictionary Words: Lexicography Lingo

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Out of respect for the previously banned Hawaiian language, we are using diacritical marks in this column that more accurately convey meaning and pronunciation.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 21, 2023

The 'e' vowel though had no diacritical mark, so was largely absent.

From BBC • Nov. 26, 2022

The correct Spanish pronunciation of “Angeleño” is “Ahn-hell-len-yo,” as dictated by the tilde, the diacritical mark above the second n.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 27, 2022

Related How to type special characters on a Windows 10 PC Use the touch keyboard The easiest way to add diacritical marks to a document is to enable the Windows touch keyboard.

From The Verge • Apr. 26, 2022

Written Astrolinguish was awash in diacritical marks, with lots of umlauts, accents, and tildes.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023