- containing symbols, or being used as a symbol
- He shook his fist in a symbolic gesture of defiance.
- The ceremony has a deep symbolic meaning.
- The new regulations are largely symbolic (= they will not have any real effect).
- symbolic of something The dove is symbolic of peace.
Extra ExamplesTopics Artc1, Literature and writingc1- The case became symbolic of the problem of violence against women.
- The role of monarch is a purely symbolic one.
- These two objects are symbolic of life and death.
- This is a gruesome and heavily symbolic tale.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- seem
- become
- …
- deeply
- heavily
- highly
- …
- of
Word Originmid 17th cent.: from French symbolique or late Latin symbolicus, from Greek sumbolikos.Take your English to the next level
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symbolic