symbolism
symbolism Lexical Profile
symbolism Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The use of symbols to represent ideas, qualities, or concepts, especially by investing concrete objects or actions with a deeper symbolic meaning.
"The literature professor delivered an insightful lecture on the religious symbolism woven throughout the medieval poem."
Symbolic meaning attributed to natural objects, actions, or facts.
"Many wedding traditions are rich in cultural symbolism that dates back centuries."
A late 19th-century artistic and literary movement originating in France that rejected realism and naturalism in favor of evoking subjective emotions and abstract ideas through symbolic images.
"Poets associated with symbolism sought to evoke fleeting moods and spiritual truths rather than describe the physical world directly."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the mid-17th century from 'symbol' and the suffix '-ism', tracing back through Latin 'symbolum' to Ancient Greek 'symbolon' (token or watchword). The sense referring to the late 19th-century artistic and literary movement was borrowed from French 'symbolisme'.