initialism
Letters for words
An initialism is an abbreviation formed from the first letters of a phrase, with each letter pronounced separately: FBI, HTML, CEO.
This distinguishes it from an acronym, where the letters are pronounced as a word (like NASA or scuba).
Some initialisms become so familiar that people forget what the letters stand for, as with ATM or DVD.
The term itself is sometimes confused with acronym, and many speakers use acronym loosely to cover both.
U.S. domestic intelligence agency
Shortened word form
- shorteningReducing length or duration
- condensationVapor turning to liquid
- shorthandAbbreviated writing system
- contractionReduction in size
reduction · brevity · efficiency · simplification · memorability · recognition · standardization
Alphabetic characters or mail
- alphabetLanguage's letter system
- uppercaseCapital letter form
- capitalizationUsing big letters properly
- periodsSpans of time
dots · punctuation · pronunciation · spelling · formation · characters · notation · typography
FBI
U.S. domestic intelligence agency
HTML · JPEG · OPEC · UNESCO · BBC · ESPN · NFL · IBM · CEO · USA
abbreviation
Shortened word form
- shorteningReducing length or duration
- condensationVapor turning to liquid
- shorthandAbbreviated writing system
contraction · reduction · brevity · efficiency · simplification · memorability · recognition · standardization
letters
Alphabetic characters or mail
- alphabetLanguage's letter system
- uppercaseCapital letter form
- capitalizationUsing big letters properly
periods · dots · punctuation · pronunciation · spelling · formation · characters · notation · typography
SMS
Mobile text protocol
BRB · BTW · OMG · IDK · IMO · NSFW · ROFL · HTML · URL · API
- brevitybrevity, concise, succinct, terse, pithy
- Symbols and Abbreviationsabbreviation, acronym, shorthand, contraction, truncation
- shorteningabbreviation, abbreviating, abridgment, truncating, truncation
- Shorteningsabbreviation, acronym, contraction, truncation, clipping
- shortening methodsabbreviation, acronym, contraction, abridgment, curtailment
- word descriptorsmonosyllabic, polysyllabic, brief, lengthy, concise
initialismexpanded form
Complete unabbreviated notation
long form · blend · portmanteau · clipping · truncation
initialing, initialize, initializes, initialized, initialization, initializing, initialisms, initializations