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.
Unfortunately, the juggling of storylines ends up being more schematic than insightful.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Many of Lam’s forays into modernism, into the 1940s—dependent, almost to the point of parody, on Picasso—are schematic misunderstandings of Cubism’s spatial complexities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 2026
He’s not known as a schematic mastermind, nor does he call plays.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026
Setting down the xenomorphs on Earth is a stunning, scary idea that Hawley builds from a schematic illustrated with tension, tragedy, fascination, and grim familiarity with our species’ greatest flaws: hubris and greed.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2025
Annabeth wished she could give a convincing answer, show Reyna a 3-D diagram or a brilliant schematic, but she couldn’t.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
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.
