Symbol

/ˈsɪmbəl/

Synonyms for "symbol" (623 found)

Ranked by relevance and common usage.

Closest matches (125)

Verb(1 words)
betokens
Adjective(4 words)
catalan lletrachinese characterscultural symboldecimal digit

Strong matches (187)

Verb(1 words)
designate variable
Adjective(13 words)
dutch tekenfictional characterfigurative conceptfrench lettregalician lagrimagerman signifikantgerman zeichengothic kunigsgrecian urnhieroglyphic writingitalian segnological termlogographic writing

Related words (311)

Noun(134 words)
markersmarkingmarquemasadamascotmascotsmath operationmathematical signmathematical symbolmaypolemementoesmementosmephistophelesmockingbirdmockingbirdsmonoclemonogramsmonumentsmore greekmore non greek letter
Show 114 more words
motifmotif basedmyrtlenational emblemnationalistic symbolic adjectivenon greek letter glyphnon greek letter symbolnumeralsnumeric adjectivenumerical adjectiveobelisksobject motifoperatoroperatorsorb of lightoutward signowlpatternpencil markpenguinpentaclephekdaphipictographsplowmanpsipunctuation markrainbowrebusrecurring motifredbirdredbreastrepeated imagerepresentationreshrhoriversrocroman numeralroman numeral symbolsroman soldier helmetromanian literăromanian semnrunerunessaguaroscscarecrowssemiotic termserpentsshamrocksshepherdsshillalahssicklessigmasignsignifier of meaningsnarlingsombrerosspanish representarstagstand forstate emblemsteedstrongmansunroseswastikasswordsymbol of hopesymbolic representationsymbolic representationssymbolisationsymbolizationsystem icontalismantalismanstauterminalthornstickerstiresiastisiphonetokentorchestotemstridenttrilliumtrinketstriumphal archtulipstumbrelturbanstypography elementunlabeled signvalkyriesvampirevanzettivariablevariable datavariable definitionvariable namevarsvipersvisual motifvoltairewayfarerswobegonwozzeckxcivxlivxxxixzedzombieszombis
markingsmeasuremedalmetaphormetonymymetronomic markmodelmonogrammorphememortarboardmother symbolmotifmusical notationnamenext best thingnotationnotenumbernumeralnumero
Show 125 more words
object lessonold school tiepasswordpatternpausepennantpersonnelphallic symbolphonetic characterphonetic symbolphonyphrasepick outpictogrampictographic characterpicturizationpinpinch hitterplanpoint atpoint outpoint toportraitureportrayalprefigurementpresapresentmentprintingprojectionproxyrealizationreferrefer toreflectionregaliarelevant instancereliefrenderingrenditionreplacementrepresentationrepresentativereservesringringerroseschemaschool ringscorescriptsealsecond stringsecondarysegnoselectsemasiological unitsememeshamrockshibbolethsigillographysignsignaturesignifiantsignificantskull and crossbonesslursparesparesspecifysphragisticsstaffstampstand forstand instand-instandardstigmatizesubsubstituentsubstitutesubstitutionsuccedaneumsupersedersupplantersurrogateswastikaswellsyllabarysyllabicsymbolic systemsymbolismsymbolizationsymbolizesymbologysynecdochetablaturetartantempo marktermtestimonialthird stringthistletietime signaturetokentotemtotem poletypetypical exampletypifyunderstudyuniformuniversal symbolutility playervergevicarvice presidentvice-presidentvice-regentvinculumwandwatchwordwordwritingwritten character
Adjective(25 words)
mathematical notationmodern markmore base ten digitmythological figurenational attributenational symbolsnon greek script letternonnumeric characternotational symbolsnumber markerrecurring symbolreligious iconrepeating objectroman numeral numberedspanish letraspanish signostriped motif patternsymbolic implementsymbolic markingsymbolic motifs
Show 5 more words
unknown variablevariable propertieswritten signxcixxxix
Adverb(2 words)
more public monumentmost national icon
Determiner(2 words)
most markingmost roman-numeral
Verb(3 words)
pierce the darknessread pictographreflect communal values

Choosing the right synonym

  • Closest matches in this entry: a glyph, abbreviation, absalom, academic garb, accent.
  • Sentence evidence is available for symbol, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
  • Ranking signals come from derived_reverse, moby, opengloss, wordnet, and related lexical sources.

Synonym selection checklist

  • Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
  • Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
  • Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "symbol".
  • Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.

When not to replace "symbol"

Keep "symbol" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.

If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.

Replacement workflow

1. Preserve meaning

Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "symbol" intact in the sentence you are editing.

2. Tune tone

Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.

3. Re-read context

Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.

Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.

Final fit check

After choosing a replacement for "symbol", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.

If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "symbol" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.

Related word relations

OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.

5 relation types

More general

10 entries
figurative deviceliterary deviceliterary elementliterary patternnarrative techniquerepresentational processsignsignalsignalingsignalling

More specific

6 entries
animal symbolcolor motifcolor symbolobject symbolseasonal motifweather symbol

Collocations

5 entries
literary symbolrecurring symbolsymbol of freedomsymbol of hopevisual symbol

Inflections

1 entries

Derivations

4 entries

Translations

94 translations across 63 languages.

Powered by Wiktionary

Albanian

1 entries
  • simbol noun (object meant to represent another)

Arabic

3 entries
  • رَمْز noun (object meant to represent another)
  • شَارَة noun (object meant to represent another)
  • شِعَار noun (object meant to represent another)

Armenian

2 entries
  • խորհրդանիշ noun (object meant to represent another)
  • սիմվոլ noun (object meant to represent another)

Asturian

1 entries
  • símbolu noun (object meant to represent another)

Azerbaijani

4 entries
  • nişan noun (object meant to represent another)
  • rəmz noun (object meant to represent another)
  • simvol noun (object meant to represent another)
  • əlamət noun (object meant to represent another)

Belarusian

1 entries
  • сі́мвал noun (object meant to represent another)

Bengali

1 entries
  • প্রতীক noun (object meant to represent another)

Bulgarian

1 entries
  • си́мвол noun (object meant to represent another)

Burmese

1 entries
  • အထိမ်းအမှတ် noun (object meant to represent another)

Catalan

1 entries
  • símbol noun (object meant to represent another)

Chinese Mandarin

1 entries
  • 象徵 /象征 noun (object meant to represent another)

Czech

1 entries
  • symbol noun (object meant to represent another)

Danish

1 entries
  • symbol noun (object meant to represent another)

Dutch

1 entries
  • symbool noun (object meant to represent another)

Esperanto

1 entries
  • simbolo noun (object meant to represent another)

Estonian

1 entries
  • sümbol noun (object meant to represent another)

Finnish

3 entries
  • merkki noun (object meant to represent another)
  • symboli noun (object meant to represent another)
  • tunnus noun (object meant to represent another)

French

1 entries
  • symbole noun (object meant to represent another)

Galician

1 entries
  • símbolo noun (object meant to represent another)

Georgian

1 entries
  • სიმბოლო noun (object meant to represent another)

German

1 entries
  • Symbol noun (object meant to represent another)

Greek

1 entries
  • σύμβολο noun (object meant to represent another)

Hebrew

1 entries
  • סֵמֶל noun (object meant to represent another)

Hindi

1 entries
  • प्रतीक noun (object meant to represent another)

Hungarian

2 entries
  • jelkép noun (object meant to represent another)
  • szimbólum noun (object meant to represent another)

Icelandic

1 entries
  • tákn noun (object meant to represent another)

Iranian Persian

3 entries
  • رَمْز noun (object meant to represent another)
  • سَمْبُل noun (object meant to represent another)
  • نَماد noun (object meant to represent another)

Japanese

2 entries
  • シンボル noun (object meant to represent another)
  • 象徴 noun (object meant to represent another)

Kazakh

2 entries
  • рәміз noun (object meant to represent another)
  • символ noun (object meant to represent another)

Khmer

2 entries
  • និមិត្តការណ៍ noun (object meant to represent another)
  • និមិត្តរូប noun (object meant to represent another)

Korean

2 entries
  • 상징 noun (object meant to represent another)
  • 심벌 noun (object meant to represent another)

Kyrgyz

2 entries
  • белги noun (object meant to represent another)
  • символ noun (object meant to represent another)

Lao

1 entries
  • ສັນຍາລັກ noun (object meant to represent another)

Latvian

1 entries
  • simbols noun (object meant to represent another)

Lingala

1 entries
  • elembo noun (object meant to represent another)

Lithuanian

1 entries
  • simbolis noun (object meant to represent another)

Lunda

1 entries
  • yinjikijilu noun (object meant to represent another)

Macedonian

1 entries
  • симбол noun (object meant to represent another)

Malay

2 entries
  • lambang noun (object meant to represent another)
  • simbol noun (object meant to represent another)

Malayalam

2 entries
  • അടയാളം noun (object meant to represent another)
  • പ്രതീകം noun (object meant to represent another)

Mongolian

3 entries
  • бэлэг noun (object meant to represent another)
  • бэлэгдэл noun (object meant to represent another)
  • тэмдэг noun (object meant to represent another)

Norwegian Bokmål

1 entries
  • symbol noun (object meant to represent another)

Norwegian Nynorsk

1 entries
  • symbol noun (object meant to represent another)

Portuguese

1 entries
  • símbolo noun (object meant to represent another)

Romanian

1 entries
  • simbol noun (object meant to represent another)

Russian

3 entries
  • знак noun (object meant to represent another)
  • си́мвол noun (object meant to represent another)
  • эмбле́ма noun (object meant to represent another)

Scots

1 entries
  • seembol noun (object meant to represent another)

Serbo-Croatian

2 entries
  • sìmbōl noun (object meant to represent another)
  • сѝмбо̄л noun (object meant to represent another)

Slovak

1 entries
  • symbol noun (object meant to represent another)

Slovene

1 entries
  • simbol noun (object meant to represent another)

Spanish

1 entries
  • símbolo noun (object meant to represent another)

Swedish

1 entries
  • symbol noun (object meant to represent another)

Tagalog

2 entries
  • sagisag noun (object meant to represent another)
  • simboló noun (object meant to represent another)

Tajik

4 entries
  • аломат noun (object meant to represent another)
  • нишона noun (object meant to represent another)
  • рамз noun (object meant to represent another)
  • символ noun (object meant to represent another)

Tamil

1 entries
  • குறியீடு noun (object meant to represent another)

Thai

1 entries
  • สัญลักษณ์ noun (object meant to represent another)

Turkish

1 entries
  • sembol noun (object meant to represent another)

Turkmen

2 entries
  • nyşan noun (object meant to represent another)
  • simwol noun (object meant to represent another)

Ukrainian

1 entries
  • си́мвол noun (object meant to represent another)

Uzbek

3 entries
  • belgi noun (object meant to represent another)
  • ramz noun (object meant to represent another)
  • simvol noun (object meant to represent another)

Vietnamese

2 entries
  • biểu tượng noun (object meant to represent another)
  • ký hiệu noun (object meant to represent another)

Welsh

1 entries
  • symbol noun (object meant to represent another)

Yiddish

1 entries
  • סימבאָל noun (object meant to represent another)

Sample sentences

17 total sentences available.

Tatoeba + Wiktionary

The lion is often used as a symbol of courage.

Source: tatoeba (29838)

The whiteness of the lily is a symbol of purity.

Source: tatoeba (30097)

Long ago in early cultures, the ball in the game was the symbol of the sun.

Source: tatoeba (35007)

A dove is a symbol of peace.

Source: tatoeba (35129)

Showing 4 of 17 available sentences.

Common questions

What are the closest synonyms for "symbol"?

Closest matches include a glyph, abbreviation, absalom, academic garb, accent.

How should I check whether a synonym fits "symbol"?

Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.

More for "symbol"

Meaning

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