symbolize
/ˈsɪmbəlaɪz/verb
symbolize is spelled S-Y-M-B-O-L-I-Z-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,462nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, symbolize means “To be symbolic of; to represent” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in symbolize?
| Letters | 9: S-Y-M-B-O-L-I-Z-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 27,462nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is symbolize?
Symbolize appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,462nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce symbolize?
- /ˈsɪmbəlaɪz/
Symbolize has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-symbolize.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-NaomiAmethyst-symbolise.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with symbolize
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: symbolise.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of symbolize
- symbolizes present, singular, he/she/it
- symbolizing participle, present
- symbolized participle, past
- symbolise UK
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does symbolize mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To be symbolic of; to represent.
Doves often symbolize peace.
- 2
To use symbols; to represent ideas symbolically.
- 3
To convert something into a symbol.
- 4
obsoleteTo resemble each other in qualities or properties; to correspond; to harmonize.
- 5
obsoleteTo hold the same faith; to agree.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Symbolize in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to be symbolic of; to represent:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | symboliser |
| German | symbolisieren |
| Portuguese | simbolizar |
| Spanish | simbolizar, parabolizar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does symbolize come from?
From Middle French symboliser.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).