iconic

Language: en

🇺🇸 /ˌaɪˈkɑnɪk/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    Widely recognized and well-established as a symbol or representative of something; emblematic.; Relating to or of the nature of an icon or image.; Relating to or resembling a religious icon, especially in the style of Byzantine or Eastern Orthodox art.; In linguistics, describing a sign or representation that physically resembles what it stands for.

🔗 Details

Word forms

Comparative: more iconic Superlative: most iconic

Collocations

iconic imageiconic figureiconic statusiconic landmarkiconic momentbecome iconic

Derivatives

iconiconicallyiconicityiconography

Synonyms

legendaryemblematicsymbolicclassicrepresentativeseminal

Antonyms

obscureforgettableunremarkable

Commonly confused

ironic
EN: 'Ironic' means contrary to expectations or using words to mean the opposite; 'iconic' means widely recognized and representative of something.
iconoclastic
EN: 'Iconoclastic' means attacking or rejecting cherished beliefs or traditions, which is nearly the opposite of 'iconic' (celebrating established symbols).

Spelling tips

EN: Do not confuse 'iconic' with 'ironic'—they differ by only one letter but have very different meanings.

💬 Examples

  1. The Eiffel Tower is an iconic symbol of Paris and French culture.

  2. The software uses iconic representations to help users navigate the interface.

  3. The painting featured iconic imagery typical of medieval Russian religious art.

  4. Onomatopoeia is considered an iconic form of language because the sound resembles its meaning.