View synonyms for

punctuation

[puhngk-choo-ey-shuhn]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

the practice or system of using certain conventional marks or characters in writing or printing in order to separate elements and make the meaning clear, as in ending a sentence or separating clauses.
the act of punctuating.
punctuation marks.
Biology.��the sudden or accelerated extinction of some species and emergence of others, occurring only in isolated periods, as set forth in the theory of punctuated equilibrium.

punctuation

/ ˌ��ʌŋ��ʊˈ��ɪʃə�� /

noun

the use of symbols not belonging to the alphabet of a writing system to indicate aspects of the intonation and meaning not otherwise conveyed in the written language
the symbols used for this purpose
the act or an instance of punctuating

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Other Word Forms

punctuational adjective
punctuative adjective
nonpunctuation noun
repunctuation noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of punctuation¹

First recorded in 1530–40; from Medieval Latin ��ū�Գ��ٳ��پ�ō��- (stem of ��ū�Գ��ٳ��پ�ō ) “a marking, pointing”; punctuate, -ion

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

How very dare you! — have in turn blazed across social media spaces populated by the kind of folks who will tell you, unprompted, that they have a favorite punctuation mark and what it is.

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But they speak so fast, and talk about no punctuation — there’s not a period or a comma in the world to stop them once they start talking.

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“This was the best game we’ve played so far from start to finish, but we have one more. Let’s put a punctuation mark on the season!”

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And of course, that's where language really gets rivered and really, whole new orders of punctuation arrive – often their absence – and orders leave.

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The shoulder injury was a punctuation mark on a promising, but injury-riddled rookie year for Hart.

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punctuated equilibrium punctuationalism

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