Illustration of hieroglyphic
- hieroglyphic 2
hi·ero·glyph·ic
ˌhī-(ə-)rə-ˈgli-fik 
variants
or less commonly hieroglyphical
1
: written in, constituting, or belonging to a system of writing mainly in pictorial characters
2
: inscribed with hieroglyphic
3
: resembling hieroglyphic in difficulty of decipherment
1
2
: a system of hieroglyphic writing
specifically
: the picture script of the ancient Egyptian priesthood
—often used in plural but singular or plural in construction
3
: something that resembles a hieroglyph especially in difficulty of decipherment
Did you know?
If hieroglyphic writing is "all Greek to you," you know more about the etymology of hieroglyphic than you might think. That word comes from the Greek hieroglyphikos, which means "sacred carving" (from hieros, meaning "sacred," and glyphein, meaning "to carve"). The ancient Greeks who named hieroglyphic writing reserved that term for the picture writing they found carved in temple walls or on public monuments in Egypt; it was distinguished from writings done in ink on papyrus or other smooth surfaces. But since making their first appearances in English in the 1580s, both the noun hieroglyphics and the adjective hieroglyphic have been extended to apply to the picture writing of various cultures, whether or not those writings were carved or sacred.
Examples of hieroglyphic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 22 Apr. 2025
On the door were decorations and hieroglyphic inscriptions.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2025
Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025
This is what happens when a franchise operates in a vacuum, shakes its fist at the clouds about a salary cap and treats analytics like hieroglyphics.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hieroglyphic
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Adjective
The top is carved to look like a dung beetle, while the bottom is flat and inscribed with hieroglyphic text.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 22 Apr. 2025
On the door were decorations and hieroglyphic inscriptions.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2025
Noun
Frame The Brand Story As A Relatable Hero’s Journey
From the time of cavemen and hieroglyphics, humans have been storytellers.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025
This is what happens when a franchise operates in a vacuum, shakes its fist at the clouds about a salary cap and treats analytics like hieroglyphics.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hieroglyphic
Cite this Entry
“Hieroglyphic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hieroglyphic. Accessed 26 Apr. 2025.
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