Dictionary Entry
symbolic
Part of SpeechadjectivePronunciation/sim-bol-ik/Word FrequencyCommon (4.78)Curriculum FrequencyLess common (1)Pertaining to a symbol.
In a Sentence
“Writers often choose symbolic when discussing complex ideas.”
Published Usage Examples
“Many others followed Drucker; Robert Reich coined the phrase "symbolic analysts" much the same as Drucker's "knowledge workers" for those trained to use information in a way that allowed them to thrive in a shifting, information-rich networked world.”
“Nomos Alpha, from 1966, is an example of what he called symbolic music, in which the order of musical events is determined according to mathematical rules, while Kottos, composed 11 years later, is a portrait of one of the giants from Greek mythology who fought with Zeus against the Titans.”
This entry also appears in ReadingWillow Year 11 word lists, so students can move between the dictionary and year-level study sets.
Origin
From Greek 'symbolon', meaning 'a sign, a token'.
Common Phrases
Related Words
Poetry examples for “symbolic”
Excerpts from the ReadingWillow English Library collection.
Poetry examples are still being gathered for this entry. They will appear here once matching poems are available in the library.
