Uncapitalized

Uncapitalized is an adjective describing text written without capital letters, i.e., in lowercase. It contrasts with capitalized (first-letter capitalization) and uppercase (full capitalization).

In languages with capitalization rules, such as English, initial words of sentences and proper nouns are typically capitalized. Uncapitalized writing disregards these conventions and is common in informal communication, usernames, domain names, and some design contexts. In formal writing, uncapitalized sentences are generally considered nonstandard, though not universal across all style guides.

Deliberate uncapitalization is also used as a design or branding choice. Some brands present names in all lowercase to convey informality or modernity; examples include brands like google, which has historically used lowercase typography in its logo. In poetry and experimental prose, writers such as e. e. cummings have used lowercase to challenge conventions. In computing and digital media, lowercase text is standard for usernames and many identifiers to avoid case-sensitivity issues.

In programming and information design, uncapitalized identifiers typically begin with a lowercase letter, and naming conventions such as snake_case or all-lowercase are common. Other conventions, like CamelCase or PascalCase, involve capitalizing internal words. Some languages or scripts lack case distinctions altogether, rendering capitalization moot.