initialisms

Spelled-out shortened forms

Initialisms are abbreviations formed from the first letters of words in a phrase, pronounced letter by letter: FBI, CIA, HTML, ATM.

They differ from acronyms, which are pronounced as words (NASA, NATO).

The distinction blurs in casual usage, where acronym often covers both.

What does that initialism stand for?

examples

FBI

U.S. domestic intelligence agency

NASAFederal space exploration bureau
NATOWestern defense organization
AIDSImmune deficiency syndrome

HTML · SQL · ATM · PIN · OPEC · NAFTA · JPEG · SWAT · SCUBA · UNICEF

usage

jargon

Specialized professional vocabulary

technicalOf specific methods
militaryArmed forces collectively
medicalOf healthcare practice

corporate · bureaucratic · texting · internet · slang · formal · informal · standardization · disambiguation · expansion

formation

abbreviation

Shortened word form

acronymWord made from initials
shorteningReducing length or duration
contractionReduction in size

truncation · clipping · blend · portmanteau · coinage · neologism · pronunciation · spelling

typography

monogram

Interlaced personal initials

letterformA character's visual structure
uppercaseCapital letter form
periodPunctuation ending sentences

dot · spacing · font · sans-serif · block letters · typeset · character · glyph · punctuation · capitalization

Categories

vocabularyword, words, new words, term, terms
abbreviationsMr, Mrs, Ms, Dr, Jr
etymologyword origins, word history, word origin, etymon, root words
linguistic termsacronym, anagram, antonym, synonym, homonym
spellingspelling, spelling rules, spelling patterns, spelling errors, spelling conventions
slangslang, jargon, lingo, argot, cant

Opposites

pronunciation method

initialismsacronyms

Words made from initials

portmanteaus · blends · contractions

lexical form

initialismsexpanded forms

Unabbreviated, complete expressions

longhand · expansions

Family

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Rated G