Ambigram
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A calligraphic design that may be read as the same word or phrase (or sometimes different words or phrases) when oriented in two different ways, usually when reflected along a vertical or horizontal axis or when rotated through 180 degrees.
"Two nonvisual factors provide dissymmetry and prevent the ambigram from existing in a static equilibrium; most of the letters in an ambigram metamorphose into other letters when reversed; and each of those accompanying sentences provides a different idea of the word's meaning."
Example
More examples"Two nonvisual factors provide dissymmetry and prevent the ambigram from existing in a static equilibrium; most of the letters in an ambigram metamorphose into other letters when reversed; and each of those accompanying sentences provides a different idea of the word's meaning."
Etymology
From ambi- + -gram. Coined by Douglas Hofstadter in 1983-1984.
More for "ambigram"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.