schematic
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of schematic
First recorded in 1695–1705; from New Latin schēmaticus, from Greek schēmatikós, from schēmat-, stem of schêma “form, figure” ( see scheme) + -ikos -ic
Explanation
Use the adjective schematic to describe a drawing that's very simple and symbolic. That drawing your cousin made of a house with a pointy roof, smiling stick figures, and a round yellow sun? Very schematic. The word schematic can apply to ideas as well as drawings. In this case, schematic describes an overly simple interpretation of something complex, like a work of literature or a detailed plan for social change. Think of it like the drawing of a boxy house and stick figures, only applied to ideas — it's an outline of something that may not capture all the important details.
Vocabulary lists containing schematic
Dragonwings
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Fast Pitch
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This Week In Culture: January 18–24, 2020
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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.
Schematic facial features, like a distinctive square chin, and the numerous dashes of brown tape with which they’re affixed to white backings, give them the friendly mix-and-match appeal of trading cards.
From New York Times • Mar. 5, 2020
Schematic as it is, “The Lifespan of a Fact” isn’t always easy to swallow.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 20, 2018
Schematic and shallow, it flits from one hoary set piece to the next with all of the insight, surprise and psychological depth of a sanitized “Behind the Music” episode or unironic remake of “Walk Hard.”
From Washington Post • Oct. 30, 2018
Figure 16.10 Schematic ice-flow diagram for an alpine glacier.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
Schematic distribution of right and left vagus 145 54.
From Arteriosclerosis and Hypertension: with Chapters on Blood Pressure, 3rd Edition. by Warfield, Louis Marshall
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.
