GIF
What is the opposite of GIF? Here is what we hold, with its meaning and related words.
Noun — A short, silent, looping animation used online to react, joke or demonstrate something.
We haven't recorded synonyms for GIF yet. You can still read its full definition, where it comes from, or words that rhyme with it.
How to use GIF
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
send a GIF
animated GIF
reaction GIF
GIF keyboard
Standard everywhere online. Both pronunciations, with a hard g as in gift and a soft g as in jam, are in wide use and neither is wrong.
Etymology
An initialism of Graphics Interchange Format.
Full origin of GIF →Frequently asked questions
Is it pronounced GIF with a hard or soft g?
Both are established and understood. The format's creator preferred the soft 'jif' pronunciation, but the hard g, matching the word graphics in the acronym, is now more common among ordinary users. Neither will cause confusion.
What is the difference between a GIF and a video?
A GIF has no sound, usually loops forever, and is stored as a sequence of images rather than compressed video, which makes it much larger for the same length. Many platforms now show what looks like a GIF but is actually a short muted video file underneath, precisely to save bandwidth.
What is the difference between GIF and PNG?
Both support transparency, but GIF can animate and is limited to 256 colours per frame, so photographs look banded. PNG holds millions of colours and gives cleaner still images, but it does not animate.
