Symbolic

Definition: Symbolic

Symbolic

Adjective

1. Relating to or using or proceeding by means of symbols; "symbolic logic"; "symbolic operations"; "symbolic thinking".

2. Serving as a visible symbol for something abstract; "a crown is emblematic of royalty"; "the spinning wheel was as symbolic of colonical Massachusetts as the codfish".

3. Using symbolism; "symbolic art".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "symbolic" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references)

Satire

Computing

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonyms: Symbolic

Indication

Adjective: indicating; Verb:, indicative, indicatory; denotative, connotative; diacritical, representative, typical, symbolic, pantomimic, pathognomonic, symptomatic, characteristic, demonstrative, diagnostic, exponential, emblematic, armorial; individual; (special).

Crosswords: Symbolic

It's a good thing she's not too symbolic or anything. (Quick Change; writing credit: Howard Franklin)

I think we can leave it at that. It was kind of a symbolic gesture- (Friends; writing credit: Jörn O. Jensen; Birger Larsen)

This was a great symbolic moment of my life. (Parenthood; writing credit: Lowell Ganz; Babaloo Mandel)

Hand me the symbolic vaginas (The Bachelor; writing credit: Roi Cooper Megrue; Jean C. Havez)

I felt so symbolic yesterday (Mr. Jones; performing artist: Counting Crows)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Language and Symbolic Power (reference)

• Language As Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature and Method (reference)

• Metaphors in Mind: Transformation through Symbolic Modelling (reference)

• Organization Theory: Modern, Symbolic, and Postmodern Perspectives (reference)

• The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain (reference)

  (more book examples)

Periodicals

• Journal Of Symbolic Logic (reference)

  (more periodical examples)

Music

• Symbolic (reference)

• Symbolic Language (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Rep. Paul G. Rogers, chairman of the subcommittee, summed up the hearings at RPMI (Roswell Park Memorial Institute), to pass the National Cancer Act of 1971. Hearings were held on October 11, 1971. He felt that it was symbolic to hold hearings for the National Cancer Act at the oldest cancer research institute in the world. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist.

Richmond Borough President Robert Connor receives the symbolic first flu shot ... Credit: National Library of Medicine.

Symbolic picture in alchemical text showing crowned man standing on sun and crowned woman standing on moon joining flowers with descending dove, which represents marriage and the union of two substances. Credit: Library of Congress.

The sun sets on a broken wagon wheel, symbolic of the vain efforts to farm on the dry arid land of central Oregon. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. (Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1890)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

This light was symbolic.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

Delays or abnormal functioning in (1) social interaction, (2) language used as social communication, or (3) symbolic or imaginative play, with onset before age three. (references)

Business

Most users now pay a symbolic fee of US$ 2-3 per month. (references)

Some American fast-food chains are seen as the symbolic epitome of this threat. (references)

For most of these plans, the mighty state-owned Korean Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), Korea's power generation, transmission, and distribution monopoly, was left untouched, an entity too important and symbolic to risk to market forces. (references)

Civil Liberties

Samoa

In practice the Government's ban largely had been symbolic, since opposition statements received prominent coverage in the private news media. (references)

Vietnam

Under threat of physical abuse or confiscation of property, ethnic minority Protestants allegedly are made to sign a formal, written renunciation or to undergo a symbolic ritual, which includes drinking rice whiskey mixed with animal blood. (references)

Bulgaria

Aside from its symbolic importance, lack of registration denies the group the status of being a legal entity, which makes it impossible for the organization (in its own name) to make contracts, hire staff, rent or buy office space or meeting space, or other such administrative functions. (references)

Economic History

Belgium

As titular head of state, the King plays a ceremonial and symbolic role in the nation. (references)

Belgium

Many strikes are one-day symbolic actions, but longer industrial actions have occurred. (references)

Belgium

The King also is seen as playing a symbolic unifying role, representing a common national Belgian identity. (references)

Human Rights

South Africa

The Government did not approve the TRC's recommendations for an overall payment formula for reparations, which included monetary compensation as well as community support and legal and symbolic reparations, by year's end. (references)

Political Economy

Japan

The Emperor's role, both under the constitution and in practice, is essentially symbolic. (references)

Belgium

Belgium is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch who plays a mainly symbolic role. (references)

Political Rights

Zambia

This act was largely a symbolic gesture, as the President retained sufficient support to block a two-thirds impeachment vote. (references)

Guatemala

While ordinary laws could be enacted to accomplish many of the reforms, the constitutional reforms nonetheless held great symbolic value for the peace process. (references)

Trade

Portugal

Samples are subject to the same documentation requirements that apply to ordinary commercial shipments and require a symbolic value for customs declaration purposes on the shipping documents or commercial invoices. (references)

Women

Indonesia

According to reports, FGM practices appear to be increasingly symbolic in nature (for example, a pinprick or the cutting of a ceremonial root). (references)

Congo

The symbolic nature of the dowry set in the Family Code often is not respected, and men are forced to pay excessive brideprices to the woman's family. (references)

Guinea

A growing number of men and women oppose FGM. Urban, educated families are opting increasingly to perform only a slight symbolic incision on a girl's genitals rather than the complete procedure. (references)

Worker Rights

Vietnam

Most strikes are symbolic and last only 1 or 2 days. (references)

Nicaragua

While some of these unions have real collective bargaining power, others are primarily symbolic. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Expressions using "symbolic": be symbolic of ♦ Integration of symbolic and numeric learning techniques ♦ Parallel computer systems for integrated numeric and symbolic processing ♦ string Oriented Symbolic Language ♦ Symbolic Action ♦ symbolic Assembler Program ♦ symbolic ASSEMBLY ♦ symbolic Automatic INTegrator ♦ symbolic code form ♦ symbolic form of plane language ♦ symbolic inference ♦ symbolic Link ♦ symbolic logic ♦ symbolic Mathematical Laboratory ♦ symbolic mathematics ♦ symbolic of ♦ symbolic Optimal Assembly Program ♦ symbolic programming language ♦ symbolic reasoning ♦ symbolic representation. Additional references.

Beginning with "symbolic": symbolic-language, symbolic-legal, symbolic-technological.

Ending with "symbolic": pre-symbolic, quasi-symbolic.

Albanian

simbolik (emblematic, figurative, hieroglyphic, symbolical). (various references)

Arabic 

‏رمزي (emblematic, figurative, nominal, symbolical). (various references)

Bulgarian 

символичен (allegoric, allegorical, emblematic, figurative, figured, symbolical, token, typical), олицетворяващ (symbolical), значителен (appreciable, considerable, goodly, handsome, important, major, marked, monumental, respectable, round, sensible, serious, significant, smart, symbolical, tidy). (various references)

Chinese 

象征性. (various references)

Czech

symbolický (symbolical), obrazný (emblematic, figurative, tropical). (various references)

Danish

symbolsk. (various references)

Dutch

symbolisch. (various references)

Farsi 

نمادین , نمادی , نشان دار, حاکی (Expressive, Redolent, Symptomatic), علامت دار, رمزی (Allegorical, Cryptic, Esoteric, Figurative, Occult, Runic, Undercover), دال بر. (various references)

Finnish

symbolinen. (various references)

French

symbolique (symbolical). (various references)

German

symbolisch (emblematic, figurativ, figurative, in representational form, nominal, notional, representative, symbolical, typical). (various references)

Greek 

συμβολικός. (various references)

Hebrew 

סמלי (emblematic, figurative, nominal, symbolical, token, typical). (various references)

Hungarian

szimbolikus (emblematic, emblematical, figurative, symbolical), jelképes (allegoric, allegorical, emblematic, figurative, symbolical, token). (various references)

Indonesian

simbolis. (various references)

Italian

simbolico (symbolical, token). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

象徴的 , シンフェイン党 (banner, simple, simplicity, simplify, Sinn Fein, symbol, symbol color, symbolic link, Symbolics, symbolism, symbolist, symbolize, symphonic jazz, symphonic poem, symphony). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

しょうちょうてき, シンボリック . (various references)

Korean 

상징 (symbolizing). (various references)

Manx

cowreydagh (characteristic, emblematic, emblematical, impressive, indicative, sign, significant, symptomatic), cosoylagh (alike, allegoric, allegorical, likely, similar). (various references)

Pig Latin

ymbolicsay

Portuguese

simbólico (emblematic, symbolical, typical). (various references)

Romanian

simbolic (emblematic, emblematical, figurative, symbolical, symbolically). (various references)

Russian 

символический (emblematic, nominal, symbolical). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

simboličan (symbolical). (various references)

Spanish

simbólico (iconic, symbolical, token). (various references)

Swedish

symbolisk (emblematic, hieroglyphic, nominal, symbolical, token). (various references)

Thai

เป็นเครื่องหมาย. (various references)

Turkish

simgesel (emblematic, figurative, symbolical), sembolik (emblematic, emblematical, figurative, nominal, representative, symbolical). (various references)

Ukrainian

символічний (allusive, emblematic, emblematical, nominal, symbolical, typical). (various references)

Vietnamese 

tượng trưng (emblematic, emblematical, sign, symbolical). (various references)

Welsh

arwyddluniol (emblematic). (various references)

typicus. (various references)

typicalis. (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "symbolic": symbolical, symbolically. (additional references)

Words ending with "symbolic": nonsymbolic. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Symbolic" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: simbolic, symbole, symbolus, symbonic, symbotic, Symbotics. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-2 letters: cibols, climbs, cosily, cymols, limbos, symbol.

-3 letters: blimy, blocs, boils, cibol, climb, clomb, cloys, coils, combs, cymol, limbo, limbs, limby, limos, milos, moils, osmic, sibyl, slimy.

-4 letters: bios, bloc, boil, boys, cloy, cobs, coil, cols, coly, comb, cosy, coys, libs, limb, limo, limy, lobs, loci, mibs, milo, mils, miso, mobs, mocs, moil, mols.

+2 letters: symbolical.

+3 letters: combustibly, nonsymbolic, symbolistic.

+4 letters: inconsumably, monosyllabic, myeloblastic, symbolically.

+5 letters: blastomycosis, bombastically, flamboyancies, lymphoblastic, symbiotically.