26/08/2012 · What is the difference between Acronym and Initialism? • If the attempt to shorten the words or phrase is by taking up the first letters of the individual words, the resulting word is called an acronym if it is pronounceable while it is Initialism if the …

19/11/2017 · An acronym is a combination of initial or non-initial letters or syllables of the words in a phrase to form a shorter word. On the other hand, an initialism uses only the first letters of the words in a phrase to create a shorter term. Both are types of abbreviations, but the main difference lies in how they are pronounced.

The distinction between acronyms and initialisms - acronyms are pronounced as a single word, initialisms are pronounced as a series of individual letters - is, like many English language rules, very simple and slightly subjective. For some more entertaining abbreviations, check out our list of funny acronyms.

24/05/2012 · The difference between an acronym and initialism is that the abbreviation formed with initialisms is not pronounced as a word, rather you say the individual letters, such as FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), and DVD (Digital Video Disk*).

01/10/2015 · However, the main difference between acronym and initialism is that an acronym can be pronounced as if it is a word whereas initialism can’t be read or pronounced as a word itself. What is an Acronym

01/07/2021 · Merriam-Webster is defines an initialism as “an abbreviation formed from initial letters,” but acknowledges that “acronym is commonly used to refer to both types of abbreviations.” However ...

The key difference between an acronym and an initialism is that an acronym forms a new word, while an initalism does not. For example, you say "nay-to" for NATO; this means you are saying a word, as opposed to saying each letter (ehn-ay-tee-oh). So "NATO" is an acronym.

An abbreviation is a truncated word; an acronym is made up of parts of the phrase it stands for and is pronounced as a word (ELISA, AIDS, GABA); an initialism is an acronym that is pronounced as individual letters (DNA, RT-PCR).

Acronyms don't have to be JUST initials; initialisms may not be other letters other than the first. Acronym is the broader term. So the acronym "STFU" is also an initialism. But the acronym RADAR isn't an initialism. I have never heard (or even thought about it) that an acronym has to be "pronounceable" as a word.