symbolic
- adjective
- /sɪmˈbɑlɪk/
- The dove is a symbolic representation of peace.
- symbolic meaning
- a symbolic gesture
- symbolic expression
We're even even in a small symbolic way, you know, things happen.
- We're even even in a small symbolic way, you know, things happen.
- What you can say about it are only symbolic expressions of what you feel.
- And that again, reveals the extent to which the brain wants to place symbolic filters on things.
- Well, the FCA's finance decision seems maybe more symbolic than anything else right now.
- But it's it was symbolic that he's putting the family before me.
- And when into the world did we get, and how did we get symbolic acts?
- The Rose amethyst is a crystal that is symbolic of love and compassion.
Examples
-
It was the final flight of an Apollo spacecraft and the symbolic end of the space race.
-
Governor George Wallace had carried out his symbolic threat to stand in the schoolhouse door.
Fiction book (1994) -
Often this came in the form of a symbolic request for earth and water.
-
Those all have a very specific symbolic purpose.
-
So I want some support from you, both symbolic support and financial support.
-
It's only symbolic if we choose to make it so.
-
Like, what was the symbolic lesson that you took away from that?
-
A symbolic end to an age of expansion.
-
This was not before writing, but it was nevertheless symbolic of that kind of thing.
-
But it was the Forum that was the symbolic focus for their time in Rome.
Fiction book (1991)
Synonyms
A symbol of an idea or quality, like a flag
Something that clearly shows a quality or idea
In art, showing people, animals, or other things you can recognize rather than abstract shapes
Acting as a symbol of an idea like peace or courage
That shows an idea by a sign or object
Using symbols to suggest ideas or feelings instead of saying them directly
Antonyms
Compounds
- Specialized
A way of using signs like letters to show the structure of arguments and statements
How Symbolic
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Symbolic comes from symbol, which comes from the old Greek word symbolon, meaning 'sign' or 'token'. A helpful image is two people keeping matching pieces of a broken pot as a token of an agreement. So, something symbolic 'stands for' an idea or feeling instead of meaning only what you see.