How to Use Italic Font in Matplotlib (With Examples)

You can use the style argument to create an italic font in Matplotlib.

This argument is commonly used with titles and annotated text in Matplotlib:

Method 1: Use Italic Font in Title

plt.title('My Title', style='italic')

Method 2: Use Italic Font in Annotated Text

plt.text(6, 10, 'some text', style='italic')

The following examples show how to use each method in practice.

Example 1: Use Italic Font in Title

The following code shows how to create a scatterplot with a title in Matplotlib that uses regular font:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

#create data
x = [3, 6, 8, 12, 14]
y = [4, 9, 14, 12, 9]

#create scatterplot
plt.scatter(x, y)

#add title
plt.title('My Title', fontsize=22)

And the following code shows how to create a scatterplot with a title in Matplotlib and use the style argument to enable italic font:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

#create data
x = [3, 6, 8, 12, 14]
y = [4, 9, 14, 12, 9]

#create scatterplot
plt.scatter(x, y)

#add title
plt.title('My Title', fontsize=22, style='italic')

Example 2: Use Italic Font in Annotated Text

The following code shows how to use the style argument to enable italic font in an annotated text in a Matplotlib scatterplot:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

#create data
x = [3, 6, 8, 12, 14]
y = [4, 9, 14, 12, 9]

#create scatterplot
plt.scatter(x, y)

#add regular text
plt.text(6, 10, 'Normal Font',  fontsize=16)

#add italic text
plt.text(10, 10, 'Italic Font', fontsize=16, style='italic')

Notice the difference between the normal font and the italic font.

Additional Resources

The following tutorials explain how to perform other common tasks in Matplotlib:

How to Use Bold Font in Matplotlib
How to Add Text to Matplotlib Plots
How to Change Fonts in Matplotlib