symbolism

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symbolism

  • /ˈsɪmbəˌlɪzəm/

Where it comes from

From symbol + -ism, sense 2 being a semantic loan from French symbolisme.

noun symbolisms

  1. countable, uncountable Representation of a concept through symbols or underlying meanings of objects or qualities. The undeveloped or mysterically confused thought which exists in savages is fully exemplified in the childish or crazy atavistic anthropomorphism and symbolism so prevalent among degenerates.
  2. countable, uncountable An art movement originating in late 19th-century France and Belgium, seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realism. The cross-fertilization of Elizabethan drama with French symbolism gave rise to the "Princess Maleine", a new species if there ever was one, Shakespearean in form and incident, most un-Shakespearean in everything else.
  3. countable, obsolete, uncountable A combining together of parts or ingredients.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: symbolic, representativeness, token, symbol, allegory, metaphor, imagery, figuration, symbolisation, symbology, semiotics, semiosis, typology, iconology, representation, iconography

Translations

Every language

noun representation of a concept

Españolsimbolismo
한국어상징주의 sangjingjuui
日本語象徴主義 shōchōshugi
中文象徵主義 /象征主义 xiàngzhēngzhǔyì
Portuguêssimbolismo
Françaissymbolisme
DeutschSymbolik
Italianosimbolismo
Ελληνικάσυμβολισμός symvolismós
Русскийсимволи́зм simvolízm, симво́лика simvólika
Tiếng Việtthơ tượng trưng
العربيةرَمْزِيَّة ramziyya

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MLA

"symbolism." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/symbolism. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

symbolism. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/symbolism

Chicago

"symbolism." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/symbolism.

BibTeX
@misc{symbolism_2026,
  title = {symbolism},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/symbolism},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}