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phallic

phallic

12 8.4
Shaped like a penis and often used as a symbol of male power
  • adjective
  • /ˈfælɪk/
  • NSFW
translation icon : fálico
  • At the center of each city-state is a towering phallic-shaped stone monument called an obelisk.
  • phallic signifier
  • phallic shape
  • phallic symbol

Bring some sort of phallic device.

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Examples

  • It's kind of phallic shaped.

  • The hook is really a phallic symbol.

  • That sort of phallic bit there is about a foot long, OK.

  • Look at this blue phallic guy.

  • Frequently, in Paleolithic art, water is associated with birds, fish, and phallic images.

    Academic text (1995)
  • I mean, heck, a surfboard's even a phallic symbol.

  • And she made soft sculptures that looked like potatoes and or phallic symbols.

  • This is Parker's phallic fire totem.

  • A weather antenna emerges from the ground: an enigmatic phallic silver blob, like a Koons sculpture.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The ancient artwork featured several phallic symbols, representing fertility and prosperity.

Synonyms

priapic
vsphallic
  • NSFW
1 9.9

Relating to the penis or showing strong male sexual feeling

emphasizes symbolic fertility or power rather than sexual masculinity
ithyphallic
vsphallic
  • Offensive
9.9

Refers to images that show an erect penis, often in ancient art

stresses symbolic resemblance and power rather than literal physical erection

Compounds

9.9

A stage in early childhood when a child focuses on private parts and notices body differences between boys and girls

9.9

A stage in early childhood when a child's private parts become a main focus of pleasure and curiosity

How Phallic

penile
  • Specialized
8 7.4
phallic
  • NSFW
12 8.4
suggestive
  • Offensive
9 6.0

Surface Forms

phallic positive

Morphology

phallic = phallus (transparent) = phallus + ic

The adjective is a straightforward formation from 'phallus' with the productive suffix '-ic', so its meaning ('relating to a phallus') is directly derivable.

Etymology

The word phallic comes from the ancient Greek word phallos, which means 'penis'. So when something is described as phallic, it looks like or refers to a penis and often stands for 'fertility' or 'power'.