symbolism
Americannoun
-
the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character.
-
a set or system of symbols.
-
symbolic meaning or character.
-
the principles and practice of symbolists in art or literature.
-
(initial capital letter) a movement of the late 19th century in French art and literature.
-
the use of any of certain special figures or marks of identification to signify a religious message or divine being, as the cross for Christ and the Christian faith.
noun
-
the representation of something in symbolic form or the attribution of symbolic meaning or character to something
-
a system of symbols or symbolic representation
-
a symbolic significance or quality
-
(often capital) a late 19th-century movement in art that sought to express mystical or abstract ideas through the symbolic use of images See also synthetism
-
theol any symbolist interpretation of the Eucharist
Etymology
Origin of symbolism
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But symbolism is important in maintaining a democratic society under the rule of law.
From Salon
"Even when situations are nowhere near that scale, the symbolism remains powerful."
From BBC
What this week’s move down lacks in magnitude it could make up in symbolism.
From Barron's
He has deliberately worked to reclaim the Dutch flag from far‑right symbolism and angry farmers by presenting it as a source of inclusive, progressive pride.
From Barron's
However, Huppert emphasised the social symbolism of a vampire aristocracy that draws its power by feeding on ordinary mortals.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
