emblematic
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of emblematic
1635–45; < Greek emblēmat-, stem of émblēma ( see emblem) + -ic
Explanation
Something emblematic is symbolic. Empty buildings are emblematic of a city in decline, and a crown is emblematic of royalty. If you know that an emblem is a visual symbol, then you won't be surprised that emblematic things stand for other things. In fact, the word emblem comes from the French word for symbol. Something emblematic represents a larger issue, good or bad. Sometimes emblematic is used for things that are excellent examples. An A student is an emblematic student, and a war hero is an emblematic soldier. Emblematic people are symbols of what others aspire to be.
Vocabulary lists containing emblematic
Viewing Current Refugee Crisis Through an Anne Frank Lens
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The Namesake
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Words from the 2020 Vice Presidential Debate
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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.
Emblematic of the resilience she has shown throughout, she picked herself up and carried on, hobbling across the finish line, but the significant blow ultimately led to a year of indifference and underperformance in 2022.
From BBC • Aug. 9, 2024
Emblematic is the wild and wacky “Chocolate Room,” here in its New York debut, which has drawn a lot of ink in the show’s previews and early reviews.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 20, 2023
Emblematic of the Italian-American experience and a matriarch of a "food family" that stretches across industry and time, Bastianich is a bastion of ingenuity and talent.
From Salon • May 26, 2023
Emblematic of the current confidence in the job market’s strength, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard last week said he expects the U.S. unemployment rate to fall below 3% this year.
From Reuters • Feb. 7, 2022
Emblematic of this rocketing growth were the Olmec's neighbors in Oaxaca, the Zapotec, whom Flannery and Marcus have studied for more than two decades.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
