symbolism

noun

an artistic movement in the late 19th century that tried to express abstract or mystical ideas through the symbolic use of images

the practice of investing things with symbolic meaning

a system of symbols and symbolic representations

Roots

synsym- · Greek · together, with ballo-bol · Greek · throw

Synonyms for symbolism

symbolizationn symbologyn characteryadj allegoryn emblemn iconologyn figurationn anagogen pictogram

Synonyms & related words for symbolism

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of symbolism — including symbolization, symbology, charactery, allegory, emblem, iconology. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to symbolism

Explore words related to symbolism — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include symbolic, symbolical, symbolology, symbolizing, symbolizer, emblematical, symbolistic, symbols. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for symbolism

Common synonyms for symbolism include symbolization, symbology, charactery, allegory, emblem, iconology, figuration, anagoge — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does symbolism come from?

The word symbolism breaks down into 2 roots of Greek origin: sym-, from Greek syn (“together, with”); and -bol, from Greek ballo (“throw”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.