symbolist
noun
sym·bol·ist
ˈsim-bə-list 
2
: one skilled in the interpretation or explication of symbols
3
often capitalized
: one of a group of writers and artists in France after 1880 reacting against realism, concerning themselves with general truths instead of actualities, exalting the metaphysical and the mysterious, and aiming to unify and blend the arts and the functions of the senses
symbolist
adjective
Examples of symbolist in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
What distinguishes this tale, told in a comic vein, from the symbolist vein of the femme-fatale tale, is the carefree nature of the man’s leap.
—
Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 15 Nov. 2021
Among the artists included at both museums is Tyra Kleen, a symbolist painter of the same era.
—Andrew Ferren, New York Times, 21 Oct. 2019
Genteel Edwardian experimenters like Havelock Ellis and W.B. Yeats saw it as a pathway to the symbolist worlds of that period’s art.
—The Economist, 28 June 2019
In the 1890s, the women shared Gabriele d’Annunzio, the soldier, rogue, hedonist and symbolist poet.
—Rachel Shteir, WSJ, 23 Aug. 2018
Konstantin, Irina’s son, is staging his first play, an ambitious symbolist work set unfathomably far in the future.
—Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, 24 Apr. 2018
The description is fitting: front man Dan Bejar’s lyrics feel like symbolist poetry, with lines of varying lengths crammed with allusions to history, film, and—especially—pop music stacked on top of each other like records in a wobbling tower.
—Tal Rosenberg, Chicago Reader, 12 Jan. 2018
Based on a fairy tale by Aleister Crowley, the colorful early 20th-century British poet and magician, the opera’s story follows some of the same themes as Bluebeard’s Castle, in the symbolist mode of Maeterlinck.
—Peter Dobrin, Philly.com, 19 Sep. 2017
New York painter Packer will display recent work, contemporary portraiture and still lifes that convey the watery warmth of symbolist art.
—Tal Rosenberg, Chicago Reader, 15 Sep. 2017
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 15 Nov. 2021
Among the artists included at both museums is Tyra Kleen, a symbolist painter of the same era.
—Andrew Ferren, New York Times, 21 Oct. 2019
Genteel Edwardian experimenters like Havelock Ellis and W.B. Yeats saw it as a pathway to the symbolist worlds of that period’s art.
—The Economist, 28 June 2019
In the 1890s, the women shared Gabriele d’Annunzio, the soldier, rogue, hedonist and symbolist poet.
—Rachel Shteir, WSJ, 23 Aug. 2018
Konstantin, Irina’s son, is staging his first play, an ambitious symbolist work set unfathomably far in the future.
—Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, 24 Apr. 2018
The description is fitting: front man Dan Bejar’s lyrics feel like symbolist poetry, with lines of varying lengths crammed with allusions to history, film, and—especially—pop music stacked on top of each other like records in a wobbling tower.
—Tal Rosenberg, Chicago Reader, 12 Jan. 2018
Based on a fairy tale by Aleister Crowley, the colorful early 20th-century British poet and magician, the opera’s story follows some of the same themes as Bluebeard’s Castle, in the symbolist mode of Maeterlinck.
—Peter Dobrin, Philly.com, 19 Sep. 2017
New York painter Packer will display recent work, contemporary portraiture and still lifes that convey the watery warmth of symbolist art.
—Tal Rosenberg, Chicago Reader, 15 Sep. 2017
Dictionary Entries Near symbolist
Cite this Entry
“Symbolist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/symbolist. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
symbolist
noun
sym·bol·ist
ˈsim-bə-ləst
1
: a user of symbols or symbolism (as in poetry)
2
: an expert in the explaining of symbols
symbolist
adjective
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share