Basic Details
Word: Symbolic
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Standing for an idea, feeling or thing, rather than having a practical use; also, using symbols.
Synonyms: representative, token
Antonyms: literal, real
How to Spell Symbolic
Syllables: sym - bol - ic
Tricky part: The first vowel is y, not i, and the middle is bol, not bal or bul. Students write simbolic or symbalic.
Watch out for: simbolic, symbalic, symbollic, symbolick
Memory tip: A symbol + ic. The y in symbol is the same y as in system and sympathy, Greek words that all begin with sy.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Lighting the lamp at the start of the function is symbolic of knowledge.
Example 2: The new school badge has a symbolic rising sun.
Example 3: Our town gave the athlete a symbolic key to the city.
Fun Fact
Symbol goes back to the Greek symbolon, a token: an object broken in two, whose halves were matched later to prove who someone was.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Only one of these words takes the suffix ic to form a real word. Choose it:
ic
a) mark
b) symbol
c) badge
d) sign
Show answer
b) symbol. Like hero and heroic, symbol takes ic directly; for mark, sign and badge English has no such form.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct letters to form a word:
s_mb_lic
a) y, o
b) y, a
c) i, o
d) i, a
Show answer
a) y, o. Write symbol first: it has y and o.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word 'symbolic' as used in the sentence:
Breaking a coconut before starting a new venture is a symbolic act for many families.
a) representative
b) accidental
c) ordinary
d) careless
Show answer
a) representative. A symbolic act stands for something else, such as a fresh start.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A symbolic gesture is one that ____.
a) costs a great deal of money to carry out
b) has to be done secretly and quietly
c) happens by accident without any plan
d) stands for an idea more than it changes things
Show answer
d) stands for an idea more than it changes things
2. A white dove is usually symbolic of ____.
a) hunger
b) anger
c) war
d) peace
Show answer
d) peace
