platonic

adjective

pla·​ton·​ic plə-ˈtä-nik How to pronounce platonic (audio)
plā-
1
Platonic : of, relating to, or characteristic of Plato or Platonism
2
a
: relating to or based on platonic love
also : experiencing or professing platonic love
b
: of, relating to, or being a relationship marked by the absence of romance or sex
3
platonically adverb

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Two Meanings of Platonic

The two most common senses of platonic come from the same source, yet are different enough in meaning that it is rather important to distinguish between them. The original sense relates to the ancient Greek philosopher, Plato, or to his philosophy. It will always be capitalized. A secondary meaning that also stems from the name of the philosopher describes something (such as feelings or a relationship) that is characterized by an absence of romance or sex (a platonic relationship in this sense might simply be called a friendship). This sense alludes to Plato’s belief that love between people could be so strong as to transcend physical attachments.

Examples of platonic in a Sentence

Whereas in the more northerly clime of England the courtly lover of Malory and the Round Table tended to platonic adoration from afar, the Parisian woman already expected—and received—more earthly devotion. Alistair Horne, Seven Ages of Paris, 2002
Relax. The Three Phils are strictly platonic. Yet three-pal business relationships are just as vulnerable to messy implosions as their romantic counterparts. Anne Marie Cruz, ESPN, 7 Feb. 2000
… before concluding that your PC is for work and not pleasure, try hooking up a couple of first-rate speakers and then planting yourself in the platonic ideal of the chair. Fortune, Summer 1998
They had a platonic friendship, not a romantic one. Our relationship was strictly platonic.
Recent Examples on the Web The concert outing appeared platonic, as the now-couple appeared with other Hollywood friends. Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 4 Mar. 2024 Few places capture the platonic ideal of vacation quite like Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, Maui. Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Mar. 2024 Their desire for his affection seemed to stretch past romance toward some platonic ideal, an all-consuming friendship with a maddening hold. Hazlitt, 28 Feb. 2024 This section adheres closest to the Platonic ideal of a Mario Party minigame, wherein players smash a button repeatedly to make the batter rise, but not too much! Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 23 Feb. 2024 The women who are pursuing you for romantic purposes may be interested in you for that reason and be less interested in a platonic friendship. Jeanne Phillips, The Mercury News, 11 Feb. 2024 Apple’s scripted roster also includes critical darling For All Mankind, The Morning Show, Platonic, Shrinking and Slow Horses. Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Jan. 2024 In the Netflix original movie Our Souls at Night, Redford and Fonda play longtime neighbors and widowers Louis and Addie, who find comfort in spending their nights together as platonic friends. Lia Beck, EW.com, 12 Jan. 2024 Olivarez’s poems are about the familial, brotherly, romantic, platonic and self kinds of love in our lives, and about how restorative those ties can be. USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'platonic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin platonicus, from Greek platōnikos, from Platōn Plato

First Known Use

1533, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of platonic was in 1533

Dictionary Entries Near platonic

Cite this Entry

“Platonic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/platonic. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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