Word.ws English Dictionary

iconic

/aɪˈkɒnɪk/US/aɪˈkɑnɪk/

iconic adjective: relating to, or having the characteristics of, an icon.

Adjective

iconic (comparative more iconic, superlative most iconic)

  1. Relating to, or having the characteristics of, an icon.
    Antonyms:
    aniconic
  2. Distinctive, characteristic, indicative of identity.
    • an iconic move in martial arts
    • And although we’ve certainly seen a variety of blue shades — from periwinkle to cobalt and even Dean Cain’s indigo-washed costume from the 1990’s TV show “Lois & Clark” — Superman’s uniform is still instantly recognizable across generations. In fact, there is only one film — Zack Snyder’s 2013 “Man...2025 February 21, Leah Dolan, “How the Superman ‘S’ became fashion’s favorite logo”, in CNN
    Synonyms:
    signature
  3. (figuratively) Famously and distinctively representative of its type.
    • For younger musicians, Coltrane’s death became one of those iconic events that stays vividly in the mind.1983, J. K. Chambers, Milestones, New York: Beech Tree Books, →ISBN, page 111
    • She angrily turned, giving me my favorite view, that iconic view of a woman from the rear.1986, John Updike, Roger's Version, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, page 306
    Synonyms:
    emblematic, famous
  4. Representing something; symbolic.
    • an iconic gesture in sign language
    • A portrait of a person is to a considerable extent iconic, but is not completely so since the painted canvas does not have the texture of the skin, or the capacities for speech and motion, […]1955 [1946], Charles William Morris, Signs, Language, and Behavior, G. Braziller, →ISBN, page 23
    Antonyms:
    batonic

iconic meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

iconic in Hindi

आइकॉनिक

iconic in Tamil

குறிப்படம் பற்றிய, உருவம் பற்றிய

iconic in Marathi

आयकॉनिक

iconic in Urdu

پیکری, صنمی, تمثالی, تصویر
More languagesFewer languages
iconic in Bengali
প্রতীকি, আদর্শস্থানীয়, অত্যন্ত পরিচিত
iconic in Telugu
ఐకానిక్, ఐకోనిక్
iconic in Malayalam
ഐക്കണിക്, ഐക്കണിക്ക്
iconic in Kannada
ಐಕಾನಿಕ್, ಐಕೋನಿಕ್
iconic in Punjabi
ਆਈਕਾਨਿਕ, ਆਈਕਾਨੌਟਿਕ, ਆਈਕੋਨਿਕ
iconic in Gujarati
આઇકોનિક, આઈકોનિક
iconic in Odia
ଆଇକନିକ, ଆଇକାନିକ୍
iconic in Nepali
आइकनिक, आइकोनिक
iconic in Arabic
أَيْقُونِيّ ʔayqūniyy
iconic in Indonesian
ikonis, ikonik

Examples of iconic in a sentence

  • In fact, there is only one film — Zack Snyder’s 2013 “Man of Steel” — in which Superman does not wear his iconic red belted trunks.2025 February 21, Leah Dolan, “How the Superman ‘S’ became fashion’s favorite logo”, in CNN:
  • Smith (both in “Treehouse Of Horror XVIII”) but in 1992 the field was wide-open and the show could cherry-pick the most iconic and beloved fright fare of all time.2012 April 29, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired...
  • "We did look at building a new bridge, but this is an iconic structure," says Network Rail Project Manager Michael Bryan.2020 August 12, Andrew Mourant, “The tide is turning for a Victorian wonder”, in Rail, page 50:

All 40 example sentences with iconic

Synonyms of iconic

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of iconic

Forms of iconic

comparativemore iconic
superlativemost iconic
alternative form (rare)iconique

Origin of iconic

From Late Latin īconicus, from Ancient Greek εἰκονικός (eikonikós). By surface analysis, icon + -ic.

Words formed from iconic

Words that rhyme with iconic

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about iconic

What does iconic mean?
Iconic means relating to, or having the characteristics of, an icon.
What is iconic in Hindi?
Iconic in Hindi is आइकॉनिक. See Iconic meaning in Hindi.
How do you use iconic in a sentence?
In fact, there is only one film — Zack Snyder’s 2013 “Man of Steel” — in which Superman does not wear his iconic red belted trunks.
What part of speech is iconic?
Iconic is an adjective.
How do you pronounce iconic?
Iconic is pronounced /aɪˈkɒnɪk/ (UK).

Words near iconic in the dictionary

  1. ICOM
  2. icon
  3. iconhood
  4. Iconian
  5. Iconians
  6. iconic
  7. iconical
  8. iconically
  9. iconicities
  10. iconicity
  11. iconicize

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: iconic (page history and authors); iconic (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); iconic (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); iconic (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); iconic (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Iconic (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); iconic (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); iconic (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); iconic (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); iconic (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); iconic (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); iconic (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); iconic (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-iconic.wav.

Cite this entry: “iconic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/iconic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.