symbolize
Other forms: symbolized; symbolizes; symbolizing
Use the verb symbolize when you use an image, shape, color, or other simple visual to stand for something else, like when you wear black to symbolize that you're mourning a loss.
To symbolize is to make a symbol out of something. Symbolize traces back to the Greek word symbolon, which combines syn-, meaning "together," and bol, meaning "to throw." The earliest Christians were, so to speak, "thrown together" because of their beliefs, and so the Christian "marks" that represented their belief in one God became the first items to be described as symbols.
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express indirectly by an image, form, or model; be a symbol“What does the Statue of Liberty symbolize?”synonyms: emblematize, represent, stand for, symbolise, typify
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represent or identify by using a symbol; use symbols“The poet symbolizes love in this poem”“These painters believed that artists should symbolize”synonyms: emblematize, symbolisetype of:representdescribe or present, usually with respect to a particular quality
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Vocabulary lists containing symbolize
A thorough survey of various textbooks, assignments, content area standards, and examinations yields the following list of words compiled by Jim Burke. You cannot expect to succeed on assignments if you do not understand the directions.
In letters addressed to an unnamed friend, Charlie describes his experiences as a high school freshman.