diacritic

/ˌˈdaɪəˌˈkrɪdɪk/

Other forms: diacritics; diacritically

Definitions of diacritic

1. noun

   a mark added to a letter to indicate a special pronunciation
   synonyms: diacritical mark

   types:

   accent, accent mark

   a diacritical mark used to indicate stress or placed above a vowel to indicate a special pronunciation

   breve

   a diacritical mark (U-shaped) placed over a vowel to indicate a short sound

   cedilla

   a diacritical mark (,) placed below the letter c to indicate that it is pronounced as an s

   circumflex

   a diacritical mark (^) placed above a vowel in some languages to indicate a special phonetic quality

   hacek, wedge

   a diacritical mark (an inverted circumflex) placed above certain letters (such as the letter c) to indicate pronunciation

   macron

   a diacritical mark (-) placed above a vowel to indicate a long sound

   tilde

   a diacritical mark (~) placed over the letter n in Spanish to indicate a palatal nasal sound or over a vowel in Portuguese to indicate nasalization

   diaeresis, dieresis, umlaut

   a diacritical mark (two dots) placed over a vowel in German to indicate a change in sound

   stress mark

   a mark indicating the stress on a syllable

   acute, acute accent, ague

   a mark (') placed above a vowel to indicate pronunciation

   grave, grave accent

   a mark (`) placed above a vowel to indicate pronunciation

   type of:

   mark

   a written or printed symbol (as for punctuation)
2. adjective

   capable of distinguishing
   “students having superior diacritic powers”

   “"the diacritic elements in culture"- S.F.Nadel”

   synonyms: diacritical

   discriminant, discriminating

   showing or indicating careful judgment and discernment especially in matters of taste