CSS font-style

The CSS font-style property is used to set the style of the font to italic or oblique.

If no italic or oblique face is available, oblique faces can still be rendered artificially by the browser. However, this should be used cautiously, as some fonts don't render well if there isn't an italic or oblique face available. Also, this artificial rendering can be disabled with the font-synthesis property.

Tip: Use the font property to set the most common font properties in one place.

Syntax

Possible Values

normal: Specifies that a normal face is selected (i.e. not italic or oblique).
italic: Selects a font that is labeled as an italic face. If an italic face is unavailable, an oblique one is used instead.
oblique [ <angle> ]?: Selects a font that is classified as oblique. You can optionally specify an angle (e.g., 14deg, -5deg) to dictate the slant of the text, which is particularly well supported by modern variable fonts. If no angle is provided, it defaults to 14deg. If an oblique face is unavailable, an italic one is used instead.

In addition, all CSS properties also accept the following CSS-wide keyword values as the sole component of their property value:

initial: Represents the value specified as the property's initial value.
inherit: Represents the computed value of the property on the element's parent.
unset: This value acts as either inherit or initial, depending on whether the property is inherited or not. In other words, it sets all properties to their parent value if they are inheritable or to their initial value if not inheritable.

General Information

Initial Value: normal
Applies To: All elements
Inherited?: Yes
Media: Visual
Animatable: Discrete (however oblique <angle> is animatable as an angle)

Example Code

Official Specifications

CSS Fonts Module Level 4 (W3C Working Draft)
CSS Fonts Module Level 3 (W3C Candidate Recommendation 3 October 2013)
CSS Level 2.1 (W3C Recommendation 07 June 2011)
CSS Level 1 (W3C Recommendation 17 Dec 1996)

Browser Support

Browser support for CSS properties can vary, particularly for newer or experimental features. Check current browser compatibility before using a property in production, especially when supporting older browsers.

Initial Value

CSS properties have an initial value that applies when the property has not been explicitly set. The initial value is different from the value inherited from a parent element and may vary between properties.

Inheritance

Some CSS properties inherit their computed value from their parent element by default, while others do not. The inherit, initial, unset, and revert keywords can also be used to control how a property gets its value.

Vendor Prefixes

Most modern CSS properties use the standard, unprefixed syntax. Vendor-prefixed properties such as -webkit- are mainly relevant to older browser versions or specific features and should only be used when required by your browser support targets.