WordValesymbolism
using objects or images to represent deeper ideas
In more detail
1. (noun) the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities
2. (noun) a literary or artistic movement that used symbols to express emotions and ideas instead of describing things realistically
Examples
- 1. The white dove is a symbol of peace, so doves are important in the symbolism of many religions.
- 2. Symbolism was a major movement in 19th-century poetry and art.
How to use symbolism
Symbolism refers both to the general practice of using symbols to convey meaning and to the late 19th-century artistic movement emphasizing emotion and imagination over realism. In literary and art criticism, it often appears when analyzing how objects, colors, or images represent abstract ideas. The term can be applied to religion, politics, literature, and visual arts.
Common phrases
- religious symbolism
- cultural symbolism
- political symbolism
- rich symbolism
- interpret symbolism
- laden with symbolism
Synonyms
representation · allegory · metaphor · imagery · figurative language
Opposites
literalism · realism
Word family
symbol (noun) · symbolic (adjective) · symbolize (verb) · symbolist (noun) · symbolically (adverb)
A common mistake
Learners sometimes confuse symbolism with metaphor; symbolism is broader and can apply to any representational use of symbols, while metaphor is a specific rhetorical device comparing two unlike things.
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