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
Anna Lagos, WIRED, 2 Nov. 2024
The Rosetta Stone is inscribed with the same text in different scripts; Demotic, hieroglyphic and Greek.
—Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 18 Sep. 2024
Erin Couch, The Enquirer, 23 Oct. 2024
Depending on one's knowledge of Gleason's system, the paint lids were helpful navigation tools or mysterious, and perhaps unsightly, hieroglyphics.
—Douglas C. Towne, The Arizona Republic, 5 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hieroglyphic 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
In the middle of the 19th century, little was known about this advanced culture—which calculated lunar, solar, and Venusian cycles, and invented hieroglyphic writing and the concept of the number zero with hardly any tools.
—Anna Lagos, WIRED, 2 Nov. 2024
The Rosetta Stone is inscribed with the same text in different scripts; Demotic, hieroglyphic and Greek.
—Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 18 Sep. 2024
Noun
The edition in the Mercantile was published in 1614 and comprises of Egyptian hieroglyphics.
—Erin Couch, The Enquirer, 23 Oct. 2024
Depending on one's knowledge of Gleason's system, the paint lids were helpful navigation tools or mysterious, and perhaps unsightly, hieroglyphics.
—Douglas C. Towne, The Arizona Republic, 5 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hieroglyphic
Dictionary Entries Near hieroglyphic
Cite this Entry
“Hieroglyphic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hieroglyphic. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share