# symbolic

> English word · Adjective · frequency rank #8,867

## Definitions
1. Pertaining to a symbol.
2. Implicitly representing or referring to another thing.

## Etymology
From French symbolique or directly from Latin symbolicus, from Ancient Greek συμβολικός (sumbolikós, “of or belonging to a symbol”), equivalent to symbol + -ic.

## Easily confused with
- **symbols** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/symbolic-vs-symbols)
- **systolic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/symbolic-vs-systolic)
- **symbolism** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/symbolic-vs-symbolism)
- **symbolize** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/symbolic-vs-symbolize)
- **symbol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/symbol-vs-symbolic)
- **symbiotic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/symbiotic-vs-symbolic)

## Common misspellings (13)
`smybolic`, `ssymbolic`, `sybmolic`, `symbbolic`, `symbloic`, `symboilc`, `symbolci`, `symbolicc`, `symbollic`, `symmbolic`, `symoblic`, `syymbolic`, `ysmbolic`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/symbolic