symbolically

UK: /sɪmˈbɒlɪk^əli/

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

sym•bol•ic /sɪmˈbɑlɪk/  adj. 

1. of or relating to a symbol;
   used as a symbol:
   Breaking the glass at a Jewish wedding is symbolic of the incompleteness of all joy.
sym•bol•i•cal•ly, adv. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

sym•bol•ic  (sim bol′ik), adj. 

1. serving as a symbol of something (often fol. by of ).
2. of, pertaining to, or expressed by a symbol.
3. characterized by or involving the use of symbols:
   a highly symbolic poem.
4. Philosophy (in semantics, esp. formerly) pertaining to a class of words that express only relations. Cf. notional (def. 7).
5. Computing expressed in characters, usually nonnumeric, that require translation before they can be used (opposed to absolute).

Also, sym•bol′i•cal (for defs. 1–4).

• Greek symbolikós. See symbol, -ic
• Late Latin symbolicus
• 1650–60

sym•bol′i•cal•ly, adv. 
sym•bol′i•cal•ness, n.