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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
| Español | simbolismo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 상징주의 sangjingjuui |
| 日本語 | 象徴主義 shōchōshugi |
| 中文 | 象徵主義 /象征主义 xiàngzhēngzhǔyì |
| Português | simbolismo |
| Français | symbolisme |
| Deutsch | Symbolik |
| Italiano | simbolismo |
| Ελληνικά | συμβολισμός symvolismós |
| Русский | символи́зм simvolízm, симво́лика simvólika |
| Tiếng Việt | thơ tượng trưng |
| العربية | رَمْزِيَّة ramziyya |
Talk about this word "symbolism." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/symbolism. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. symbolism. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/symbolism "symbolism." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/symbolism.Cite this
@misc{symbolism_2026,
title = {symbolism},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/symbolism},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}