adj · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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rhymes with -ɒlɪk
CMU ARPABET:S IH0 M B AA1 L IH0 K
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Pertaining to a symbol.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Implicitly representing or referring to another thing.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
a symbolic gesture
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
adjective
Meaning 3
relating to or using or proceeding by means of symbols
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
symbolic logic
symbolic operations
symbolic thinking
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: symbolical
Antonyms: none provided
4
adjective
Meaning 4
using symbolism
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
symbolic art
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
adjective satellite
Meaning 5
serving as a visible symbol for something abstract
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a crown is emblematic of royalty
the spinning wheel was as symbolic of colonical Massachusetts as the codfish
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: emblematic, emblematical, symbolical
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From French symbolique or directly from Latin symbolicus, from Ancient Greek συμβολικός (sumbolikós, “of or belonging to a symbol”), equivalent to symbol + -ic.
Across languages
Translations
67 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Armenian:
խորհրդանշական
(xorhrdanšakan)
— pertaining to a symbol
Bengali:
সাংকেতিক
(śaṅketik)
— pertaining to a symbol
Bengali:
প্রতীকী
(protiki)
— pertaining to a symbol
Bulgarian:
символичен
(simvoličen)
— pertaining to a symbol
Catalan:
simbòlic
— pertaining to a symbol
Czech:
symbolický
— pertaining to a symbol
Dutch:
symbolisch
— pertaining to a symbol
Esperanto:
simbola
— pertaining to a symbol
Estonian:
sümboolne
— pertaining to a symbol
Finnish:
symbolinen
— pertaining to a symbol
French:
symbolique
— pertaining to a symbol
Galician:
simbólico
— pertaining to a symbol
German:
symbolisch
— pertaining to a symbol
Hebrew:
סמלי
(simlí)
— pertaining to a symbol
Hebrew:
סמלית
(simlít)
— pertaining to a symbol
Hindi:
सांकेतिक
(sāṅketik)
— pertaining to a symbol
Kazakh:
таңбалық
(tañbalyq)
— pertaining to a symbol
Kazakh:
символдық
(simvoldyq)
— pertaining to a symbol
Kazakh:
символикалық
(simvolikalyq)
— pertaining to a symbol
Northern Kurdish:
sembolîk
— pertaining to a symbol
Northern Kurdish:
remzî
— pertaining to a symbol
Latvian:
simbolisks
— pertaining to a symbol
Macedonian:
симболичен
(simboličen)
— pertaining to a symbol
Norwegian Bokmål:
symbolsk
— pertaining to a symbol
Norwegian Nynorsk:
symbolsk
— pertaining to a symbol
Polish:
symboliczny
— pertaining to a symbol
Portuguese:
simbólico
— pertaining to a symbol
Portuguese:
simbólico
— pertaining to a symbol
Romanian:
simbolic
— pertaining to a symbol
Russian:
символи́ческий
(simvolíčeskij)
— pertaining to a symbol
Scottish Gaelic:
samhlachail
— pertaining to a symbol
Spanish:
simbólico
— pertaining to a symbol
Ukrainian:
символі́чний
(symvolíčnyj)
— pertaining to a symbol
Yiddish:
סימבאָליש
(simbolish)
— pertaining to a symbol
Albanian:
simbolik
— implicitly referring to another thing
Armenian:
խորհրդանշական
(xorhrdanšakan)
— implicitly referring to another thing
Asturian:
simbólicu
— implicitly referring to another thing
Bengali:
সাংকেতিক
(śaṅketik)
— implicitly referring to another thing
Bengali:
প্রতীকী
(protiki)
— implicitly referring to another thing
Bulgarian:
символичен
(simvoličen)
— implicitly referring to another thing
Catalan:
simbòlic
— implicitly referring to another thing
Estonian:
tähistav
— implicitly referring to another thing
Finnish:
vertauskuvallinen
— implicitly referring to another thing
French:
symbolique
— implicitly referring to another thing
German:
symbolisch
— implicitly referring to another thing
German:
symbolträchtig
— implicitly referring to another thing
Hebrew:
סמלי
(simlí)
— implicitly referring to another thing
Hebrew:
סמלית
(simlít)
— implicitly referring to another thing
Hebrew:
סימבולי
(simbóli)
— implicitly referring to another thing
Hebrew:
סימבולית
(simbólit)
— implicitly referring to another thing
Hindi:
सांकेतिक
(sāṅketik)
— implicitly referring to another thing
Hindi:
प्रतीकात्मक
(pratīkātmak)
— implicitly referring to another thing
Hungarian:
jelképes
— implicitly referring to another thing
Hungarian:
szimbolikus
— implicitly referring to another thing
Latvian:
simbolisks
— implicitly referring to another thing
Lithuanian:
simbòliškas
— implicitly referring to another thing
Lithuanian:
simbòlinis
— implicitly referring to another thing
Malayalam:
പ്രതീകാത്മക
(pratīkātmaka)
— implicitly referring to another thing
Polish:
symboliczny
— implicitly referring to another thing
Portuguese:
simbólico
— implicitly referring to another thing
Romanian:
simbolic
— implicitly referring to another thing
Scottish Gaelic:
samhlachail
— implicitly referring to another thing
Serbo-Croatian:
simbòličan
— implicitly referring to another thing
Slovene:
simbóličen
— implicitly referring to another thing
Spanish:
simbólico
— implicitly referring to another thing
Ukrainian:
символі́чний
(symvolíčnyj)
— implicitly referring to another thing
Yiddish:
סימבאָליש
(simbolish)
— implicitly referring to another thing