symbolic
When one thing represents something else that's more abstract, it is symbolic, like a cowboy's black hat in western films is symbolic of his sinister intentions.
Images and designs on flags are often symbolic of something about a country, for instance, New Zealand's flag shows four stars that are symbolic of the constellation Crux. We're not sure exactly where the word symbolic came from, because several languages have similar words with similar meanings. The word could have come from the French symbolique, the Latin symbolicus, or the Greek sumbolikos.
Definitions of symbolic
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relating to or using or proceeding by means of symbols
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serving as a visible symbol for something abstract“the spinning wheel was as symbolic of colonical Massachusetts as the codfish”
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synonyms:
emblematic, emblematical, symbolical
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representative
standing for something else
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representative
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using symbolism“symbolic art”
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘symbolic'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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