symbolism

The practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships.

A system of symbols or representations.

A symbolic meaning or representation.

Revelation or suggestion of intangible conditions or truths by artistic invention.

The movement, theory, or practice of the late 19th-century Symbolists.

The investing of things with a symbolic meaning or character; the use of symbols.

Symbolic character.

An exposition or comparison of symbols or creeds.

[capitalized] The theories and practice of the Symbolist School. See Symbolist, n., 2.

An abnormal mental state in which every occurrence is interpreted as a symbol of the subject’s own sensations and thoughts.