totemic
Americanadjective
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of, being, or relating to a natural object or animate being, as an animal or bird, assumed as the emblem of a clan, family, or group.
Crocodiles are regarded as totemic animals in some parts of Africa, connected with a group's origin, ancestors, and place.
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of, being, or relating to anything regarded as a distinctive or venerated emblem by a group or individual.
I explained that the great horse trilogy, My Friend Flicka, was one of the most vivid and totemic elements of my childhood.
This has been a totemic issue for their party over the years, literally a signature policy during the last election.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of totemic
First recorded in 1840–50; totem ( def. ) + -ic
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.
Its taller form—an angular, totemic granite pillar nearly 10 feet high—pays homage to Brancusi’s “Endless Columns.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
For his followers, Nemtsov is a totemic figure in Russian political life -- seen as a once-future leader who might have taken the country on a different path.
From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026
He didn’t have the totemic, darkly glamorous style of Robert Mapplethorpe but one more intimate, more dependent on human connection and contingency, even as he remained meticulous in his pursuit of the perfect shot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
The CST said: "Both of these cases illustrate how sentiment and rhetoric towards Israel and Zionism influence, shape and drive contemporary anti-Jewish discourse, online and offline, often around totemic events that grab mainstream public attention."
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2025
Interspersed amid these totemic items were stray Q-tips and cotton balls, lip liners, Max Factor eye makeup, mascara, blush, and everything else I used in a losing battle to make myself beautiful.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
