Thesaurus results for SYMBOLS

symbols 1 of 2

noun

plural of symbol

as in emblems

a device, design, or figure used as an identifying mark the traditional physician's symbol of a staff entwined with a snake

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in signs

a written or printed mark that is meant to convey information to the reader the symbol ¶ indicates where a new paragraph should begin symbols such as emoji that are used in texts

Synonyms & Similar Words

symbols

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of symbol

as in symbolizes

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of symbols

Noun

Before the three scientists’ work, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans were largely abstract animals to most people – zoo exhibits, textbook illustrations, evolutionary symbols. —

Mireya Mayor, The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2026 The movie’s rage is righteous, its symbols profound. —

Richard Brody, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2026 Visual phonics, which includes hand cues and symbols that represent sounds such as vowels or consonants, can be used as literacy support. —

Lina Ruiz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Mar. 2026 Quanta spoke with Dunning about how that technology has influenced mathematical thought — about why Roman numerals are hard to use, how symbols beat shapes in calculus, and why arguments about writing things down may have produced some of our most fundamental insights about logic and computation. —

John Pavlus, Quanta Magazine, 25 Mar. 2026 Most crucially, art sustains democratic possibilities when institutions fail to deliver it, such as miles and miles of street art of the Black Lives Matter movement replete with imagery related to Black people killed by the police, and vibrant symbols of freedom, hope and joy. —

Jane M. Saks, Chicago Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026 The crosswalks in the Oak Lawn neighborhood, which had long been seen by many as symbols of LGBTQ pride and visibility, were removed early in the morning. —

Dallas Morning News, 23 Mar. 2026 Inaccurate/sloppy copies of the state seal and other official symbols. —

Saleen Martin, USA Today, 20 Mar. 2026 The movie does attempt to gesture at class and race as thematic underpinnings (the maids trapped in The Virgil are mostly non-white, while the villains are rich Caucasians), but like the story and action at large, these go pretty much nowhere, and feel like obligatory symbols. —

Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for symbols

Noun

Chaiwalas, or street tea venders, have long been taken as emblems of the small-scale entrepreneurialism by which uneducated Indians can gain subsistence, and, in theory, something more.

— Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
The two became emblems of a schism.

— Gaby Del Valle, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026