symbolism

American  

[sim-buh-liz-uhm] / ˈsɪm bəˌlɪz əm /

noun

• symbolisms
  plural

1. the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character.

2. a set or system of symbols.

3. symbolic meaning or character.

4. the principles and practice of symbolists in art or literature.

5. (initial capital letter) a movement of the late 19th century in French art and literature.

6. the use of any of certain special figures or marks of identification to signify a religious message or divine being, as the cross for Christ and the Christian faith.

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symbolism British  

/ ˈsɪmbəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. the representation of something in symbolic form or the attribution of symbolic meaning or character to something

2. a system of symbols or symbolic representation

3. a symbolic significance or quality

4. (often capital) a late 19th-century movement in art that sought to express mystical or abstract ideas through the symbolic use of images See also synthetism

5. theol any symbolist interpretation of the Eucharist

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• symbolisms
  plural

Etymology

Origin of symbolism

First recorded in 1645–55; symbol + -ism

Explanation

When you come across objects in a painting or story that stand for a concept, the artist or author is using symbolism to convey ideas. If a particular object keeps popping up at key points in a story, chances are the author is using symbolism to convey an idea or emotion. In Aesop's fable "The Fox and the Grapes," the grapes symbolize things too difficult for someone to attain or achieve. Sometimes people use symbolism in real life. If the President meets a dignitary in the Oval Office, the symbolism of the location says, "I take you especially seriously."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

symbolism symbolisms

If Miliband’s speech and the accompanying announcements were largely symbolic, the symbolism was nonetheless powerful.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026

Dull subject matter, symbolism either opaque or eye-rollingly overt, and an indefatigable self-seriousness are all hallmarks of the caricature, and Mr. Aitken checks many of these boxes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

But now, as the sun poured through the third-floor atrium of the Bloom Center, Riley couldn’t help but point out the symbolism of such an ambitious undertaking actually coming to life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

And beyond the symbolism of having a prime ministerial office outside London, what, in practical terms, can No10 North actually achieve?

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

With some kind of reverse symbolism, Rufus called me back on July 4.

From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler

Why does heavy metal use so many biblical references and symbolisms?

From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2021

The angels mesmerizingly invoke the symbolisms of Old World Catholicism, Peru’s indigenous culture, and, thanks to their malevolent European-looking faces, the clashes that resulted when these forces met.

From New York Times ● Aug. 21, 2017

Part of Playwright Chayefsky's purpose in doing this is to cast light on the world of reality, to set up symbolisms, set speculation going.

From Time Magazine Archive

An amiable fantasy, the play is told in homely, backyard terms, with no attempt at cosmic symbolisms.

From Time Magazine Archive

But I will not inflict upon you any further description of my tusslings with Teutonic interpreters of Faust—with their egos and non-egos, their moral-æsthetic symbolisms and so on.

From The Faust-Legend and Goethe's 'Faust' by H. B. (Henry Bernard) Cotterill

Related Words

• metaphor