How to Use symbolic in a Sentence

symbolic

adjective
  • The lighting of the candles is symbolic.
  • The sharing of the wine has symbolic meaning.
  • That change does not have to be symbolic.
    — Jordan Chiles, Time, 10 Feb. 2026
  • There's a gallery wall with pieces that are symbolic of some sort of lyric.
    — Bryan West, USA Today, 19 July 2025
  • That said, this shouldn’t be symbolic.
    — Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 4 May 2026
  • The boats carry a symbolic amount of aid.
    — Nick Duffy, NBC news, 20 May 2026
  • At what point in your work did that hit you that this anecdote is so symbolic of his life?
    — Brendan O'Meara, Longreads, 20 June 2022
  • Virginia took the symbolic step five years ago.
    — Peter Su, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026
  • For me, there’s something more symbolic about it.
    — Daniel D'addario, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Yet each new sale carries symbolic weight.
    — Emiliano De Pablos, Variety, 13 Oct. 2025
  • Katie Hunt reports that the choice of bone may have been symbolic as well.
    — Livia Gershon, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 July 2021
  • The awards feel symbolic, not only of his success as an artist, but as a son.
    — Mitchell Kuga, Billboard, 9 June 2023
  • Your dinner prayer could range from symbolic and lengthy to short and simple.
    — Jorie Nicole McDonald, Southern Living, 7 June 2023
  • The scene with the needle, which goes deep into the vein, was very symbolic.
    — Holly Jones, Variety, 19 Feb. 2024
  • In the art world, cherries are symbolic of wealth and decadence.
    — Esther Newman, refinery29.com, 6 Sep. 2024
  • 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 storm brought with it one symbolic bit of dismantling.
    — David Browne, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2025
  • The first, from a symbolic perspective, is your life right now.
    — Amy Raasch, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024
  • Stevens says the push from schools like Amherst is, more than anything, symbolic.
    — Nicole Laporte, Town & Country, 30 Mar. 2022
  • And the campaign sees it as symbolic of the good a president can do.
    — Mike Allen, Axios, 29 Oct. 2024
  • The moment between the two on stage was a symbolic passing of the torch.
    — Jesse Granger, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
  • The beehive has been taken as symbolic of the unity of our faith.
    — Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 19 Apr. 2026
  • The choice of New York was also symbolic for the house.
    — Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 26 May 2026
  • Lane adds that the ring Erich ended up with felt symbolic of their journey.
    — Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 21 Sep. 2022
  • But the plan may be mostly symbolic anyway.
    — Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Dec. 2025
  • It is often viewed as a symbolic end to the summer season.
    — Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
  • The ring could be a symbolic nod to Princess Diana.
    — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 7 Mar. 2026
  • Both votes were largely symbolic, and the measures do not carry the full force of law.
    — Mary Clare Jalonick, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2026
  • In many ways, the monarch holds a symbolic role, not a political one.
    — Simon Constable, Time, 22 Sep. 2022
  • There were moments that now feel almost symbolic.
    — Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 10 Apr. 2026

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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