Meaning

An element (individual sign or glyph) of a hieroglyphic writing system..

Definitions by Sense

1. An element (individual sign or glyph) of a hieroglyphic writing system.
2. (informal) Any obscure or baffling symbol.
3. (transitive) To represent by hieroglyphs.

Example Sentences

Hieroglyphs were discovered on the wall inside the temple.

Mayan Hieroglyphs as Linguistic Evidence. In Third Palenque Round Table, 1978, vol. V, part 2, edited by Merle Greene Robertson, pp. 204-216.

Some idea of the nature of Mayan hieroglyphs has already been gained from the sets of day-signs and month-signs. In the opinion of the writer, Mayan hieroglyphs are among the best examples of calligraphy; each glyph block is a composition exhibiting remarkable qualities of design.

With your handwriting, it's no surprise the Prof can't read your hieroglyphs!

"There are SCPs with antimemetic properties," Marion goes on. "There are ideas which cannot be spread. There are entities and phenomena which harvest and consume information, particularly information about themselves. You take a Polaroid photo of one, it'll never develop. You write a description down with a pen on paper and hand it to someone— but what you've written turns out to be hieroglyphs, and nobody can understand them, not even you. You can look directly at one and it won't even be invisible, but you'll still perceive nothing there."

Word Forms

• hieroglyphs
• hieroglyphing
• hieroglyphed

Synonyms for hieroglyph

Related Words

When Should You Use Hieroglyph?

Use hieroglyph when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

Practice This Word

Frequently Asked Questions