How to Use symbolic in a Sentence

symbolic

adjective
  • The lighting of the candles is symbolic.
  • The sharing of the wine has symbolic meaning.
  • A lot of the strikes in the past 20 years have been symbolic more than strategic.
    Emmett Lindner, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2023
  • The scene with the needle, which goes deep into the vein, was very symbolic.
    Holly Jones, Variety, 19 Feb. 2024
  • For Yang, at least, the drop in pay is largely symbolic.
    Lionel Lim, Fortune, 14 Dec. 2023
  • All sorts of things are thrown into the fires, like wood, leaves and food, in a symbolic purge of evil and triumph of good.
    Hari Kumar, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024
  • And the campaign sees it as symbolic of the good a president can do.
    Mike Allen, Axios, 29 Oct. 2024
  • Today the role of the Maori monarch is largely symbolic.
    Rachel Treisman, NPR, 5 Sep. 2024
  • Its colors of red, black, and green are symbolic of the Pan-African movement.
    Taylor Crumpton, Essence, 19 June 2024
  • In the art world, cherries are symbolic of wealth and decadence.
    Esther Newman, refinery29.com, 6 Sep. 2024
  • The awards feel symbolic, not only of his success as an artist, but as a son.
    Mitchell Kuga, Billboard, 9 June 2023
  • The job is just to be a symbolic representation of the UK.
    Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, 13 Mar. 2024
  • And in an equally symbolic move, the Chinese side said that for now, the brandies would have a reprieve.
    Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
  • The first, from a symbolic perspective, is your life right now.
    Amy Raasch, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024
  • Lane adds that the ring Erich ended up with felt symbolic of their journey.
    Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 21 Sep. 2022
  • The Black vote must evolve from a tool of symbolic support to a lever for real, lasting change.
    Christopher Anderson, Baltimore Sun, 21 Nov. 2024
  • The action is likely to have little more than symbolic impact for the singer, who lives in Ukraine.
    Ivan Nechepurenko, New York Times, 20 Nov. 2023
  • Most of those past campaigns had been quixotic, symbolic, and, in the end, futile.
    Marianne Mather, Chicago Tribune, 25 Nov. 2022
  • Your dinner prayer could range from symbolic and lengthy to short and simple.
    Jorie Nicole McDonald, Southern Living, 7 June 2023
  • In many ways, the monarch holds a symbolic role, not a political one.
    Simon Constable, Time, 22 Sep. 2022
  • The monks in charge of the site conducted a funeral mass for him, marking his symbolic death.
    Lanta Davis and Vince Reighard, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Mar. 2024
  • Yet even as the crimes or the forms of intoxication evolve, the power of the symbolic meal persists.
    Jessica Carbone, Saveur, 24 Oct. 2024
  • The subject carries a symbolic function: The bath is an act of cleansing — of starting fresh.
    Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2023
  • Across the state spring teams convened for the first time under sunny skies, symbolic of the hope inherent in the start of a new season.
    Nate Weitzer, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Mar. 2023
  • Since taking office, Boric has paid symbolic homage to Allende at home and in the United States.
    Pamela Constable, Washington Post, 25 Sep. 2023
  • Throughout the Bible and even in Western culture, snakes and serpents are symbolic of evil or the devil.
    Okla Jones, Essence, 2 Sep. 2023
  • That style rule is symbolic of his broader meaning on sports TV.
    Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2024
  • The nuptials were full of symbolic moments, Alexia told Us Weekly at the time.
    Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024
  • In a sense, Weinstein is the wrong test for #MeToo because of his symbolic value.
    Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 7 Dec. 2022
  • Pumpkins were gifted to the colonists at the original Thanksgiving, so having pumpkins on the menu is symbolic of America's origins.
    Terry Baddoo, USA TODAY, 16 Nov. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'symbolic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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