symbolize
/ˈsɪmbəlʌɪz
/(also symbolise)
verb [with object]
1Be a symbol of: the ceremonial dagger symbolizes justice...
- Find a photo that illustrates, demonstrates or somehow symbolizes each word given.
- The broken glass symbolises the broken faith, broken trust and shattered justice, our axe symbolises the steadfastness of our determination.
- In many countries they symbolise Justice as blind and bearing scales.
1.1Represent by means of symbols: a tendency to symbolize the father as the sun...
- The columns have been painted to resemble jade, and in Chinese erotic poetry the male phallus is often symbolised as a jade column or a bamboo shoot.
- The post-war change in approach can be symbolised in the snapshot, subject of another section of the exhibition.
- He became first president of Turkey, changing his name to Kemal Ataturk, symbolising him as father of the nation.
Synonyms
represent, be a symbol of, stand for, be a sign of, exemplify;
denote, signify, mean, communicate, indicate, convey, express, imply, suggest, allude to;
embody, epitomize, encapsulate, personify, typify
literary betoken
archaic symbol
Derivatives
symbolization
- There are local meetings and video showings as well as a ‘die-in’ street theatre, in which they recreate a visual symbolisation of the people who have been killed by war.
- Moreover, in this process of hysterical conversion, symptoms are not arbitrary and meaningless phenomena but complex symbolizations of repressed psychological experiences.
- By encouraging children to express their symbolization in writing and art, one observer argues, ‘children feel closer to, and more situated in their environment.’