symbolic en · ADJ
Pronunciation
Etymology
From French symbolique or directly from Latin symbolicus, from Ancient Greek συμβολικός (sumbolikós, “of or belonging to a symbol”), equivalent to symbol + -ic.
Meanings
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Pertaining to a symbol.
Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. When a series of bank failures made this impossible, there was widespread anger, leading to the public humiliation of symbolic figures.
2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, archived from the original on 05 Dec 2019, page 21:
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Implicitly representing or referring to another thing.
a symbolic gesture
As a sign-off, they played the video for 1979 new wave classic, a symbolic choice at it was also the first video that MTV ever aired when it launched in the US in 1981.
2026 January 1, Max Pilley, “MTV shuts down final music-only channels with ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’”, in NME:They viewed the power shift and diversity as a symbolic but meaningful rebuke of the Islamophobic rhetoric that was a central theme of then Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign.
2023 June 17, Tom Perkins, “‘A sense of betrayal’: liberal dismay as Muslim-led US city bans Pride flags”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 10 Aug 2023:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most symbolic | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more symbolic | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
symbolically · Blissard's symbolic method · concolic · symbolic language · symbolic link · symbolic speech · subsymbolic · postsymbolic · presymbolic · symbolics · shambolic · symbolic expression · symbolic logic · neurosymbolic · multisymbolic · sound-symbolic · symbolic interactionism · ethnosymbolic · asymbolic · unsymbolic · symbolicness · symbolicism · symbolicate · symblematic · antisymbolic · symbolic constant · sociosymbolic · symbolical · nonsymbolic
Relateds
symbolist (terms related to symbolic (adjective)) · symbolise (terms related to symbolic (adjective)) · symbology (terms related to symbolic (adjective)) · symbolism (terms related to symbolic (adjective)) · symbolistic (terms related to symbolic (adjective)) · symbolization (terms related to symbolic (adjective)) · symbol (terms related to symbolic (adjective)) · symbolize (terms related to symbolic (adjective)) · symbolisation (terms related to symbolic (adjective))
Synonyms
Translations (67)
sh simbòličan (implicitly referring to another thing) · he סמלית (implicitly referring to another thing) · fi vertauskuvallinen (implicitly referring to another thing) · fi symbolinen (pertaining to a symbol) · fr symbolique (pertaining to a symbol) · pt simbólico (pertaining to a symbol) · pl symboliczny (implicitly referring to another thing) · he סמלי (implicitly referring to another thing) · nl symbolisch (pertaining to a symbol) · es simbólico (implicitly referring to another thing) · et sümboolne (pertaining to a symbol) · bn প্রতীকী (pertaining to a symbol) · et tähistav (implicitly referring to another thing) · yi סימבאָליש (implicitly referring to another thing) · lt simbòliškas (implicitly referring to another thing) · gd samhlachail (implicitly referring to another thing) · bg символичен (pertaining to a symbol) · ast simbólicu (implicitly referring to another thing) · he סמלי (pertaining to a symbol) · kk символдық (pertaining to a symbol) · hi सांकेतिक (implicitly referring to another thing) · cs symbolický (pertaining to a symbol) · kmr sembolîk (pertaining to a symbol) · bg символичен (implicitly referring to another thing) · lv simbolisks (pertaining to a symbol) · ml പ്രതീകാത്മക (implicitly referring to another thing) · sq simbolik (implicitly referring to another thing) · kmr remzî (pertaining to a symbol) · hu jelképes (implicitly referring to another thing) · hy խորհրդանշական (implicitly referring to another thing) · es simbólico (pertaining to a symbol) · he סמלית (pertaining to a symbol) · pl symboliczny (pertaining to a symbol) · mk симболичен (pertaining to a symbol) · ro simbolic (implicitly referring to another thing) · he סימבולית (implicitly referring to another thing) · pt simbólico (pertaining to a symbol) · de symbolisch (implicitly referring to another thing) · ca simbòlic (pertaining to a symbol) · hy խորհրդանշական (pertaining to a symbol) · ru символи́ческий (pertaining to a symbol) · eo simbola (pertaining to a symbol) · he סימבולי (implicitly referring to another thing) · lt simbòlinis (implicitly referring to another thing) · nb symbolsk (pertaining to a symbol) · hi सांकेतिक (pertaining to a symbol) · de symbolträchtig (implicitly referring to another thing) · de symbolisch (pertaining to a symbol) · bn সাংকেতিক (pertaining to a symbol) · ro simbolic (pertaining to a symbol) · uk символі́чний (pertaining to a symbol) · hu szimbolikus (implicitly referring to another thing) · hi प्रतीकात्मक (implicitly referring to another thing) · bn প্রতীকী (implicitly referring to another thing) · nn symbolsk (pertaining to a symbol) · bn সাংকেতিক (implicitly referring to another thing) · fr symbolique (implicitly referring to another thing) · ca simbòlic (implicitly referring to another thing) · uk символі́чний (implicitly referring to another thing) · gl simbólico (pertaining to a symbol) · sl simbóličen (implicitly referring to another thing) · kk символикалық (pertaining to a symbol) · kk таңбалық (pertaining to a symbol) · gd samhlachail (pertaining to a symbol) · yi סימבאָליש (pertaining to a symbol) · pt simbólico (implicitly referring to another thing) · lv simbolisks (implicitly referring to another thing)