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.
Yet even Bergman’s most schematic films—the ones in which ideas seem to drive him as much as mood, style or plot—make expressive use of cinema’s aesthetic vocabulary: light, composition, sometimes color, always sound or music.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
If there is something schematic about the arc, the characters within it, Clive as much as Leo, are completely human.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Unfortunately, the juggling of storylines ends up being more schematic than insightful.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
It is one thing to make a schematic diagram of social categories, and another thing to confront examples of them in the flesh; that is the tension that runs through “People.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026
In under a minute, he has built an oscillator to match the schematic.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
