platonic

adjective pla·ton·ic \ plə-ˈtä-nik , plā- \

Updated on: 12 May 2018

Definition of platonic

1 capitalized : 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 : nominal, theoretical

—

platonically

play \plə-ˈtä-ni-k(ə-)lē, plā-\ adverb

See platonic defined for English-language learners

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 of platonic from the Web

That Into Him - June 2010 While Rihanna believed her relationship with Drake was strictly platonic, Drake seemed to have believed otherwise.

— nerisha penrose, Billboard, "A Timeline of Rihanna & Drake's Complicated Relationship," 3 May 2018
Of course, Logan doesn't interact with women in a platonic capacity, so the night ends with an orgy.

— refinery29.com, "Westworld Season 2, Episode 2 Recap: What The Hell Is "Glory"?," 30 Apr. 2018
By that point, Walters had long since delivered for her platonic fiancé with her first promotional profile of his shiny young protégé for ABC’s 60 Minutes rival 20/20.

— frank rich, Daily Intelligencer, "The Original Donald Trump," 29 Apr. 2018
To the disappointment of many fans, especially longtime Canadian followers who have watched them for years, Virtue and Moir maintain that their relationship is strictly platonic — and has always been, except for that childhood blip.

— raisa bruner, Time, "Everything We Know about Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir’s Relationship," 12 Feb. 2018
The house is built from basic materials and finished with high-end touches, creating the platonic ideal of low-cost, high-design.

— liz stinson, Curbed, "Australian modern house exudes a midcentury Palm Springs charm," 18 Apr. 2018
Our interactions were platonic and fun and natural.

— meredith goldstein, Health.com, "Why I Wish People Would Stop Calling My Best Friend My ‘Work Husband’," 4 Apr. 2018
Likewise, Clint Capela has emerged as the platonic ideal of a rim-running big.

— andrew sharp, SI.com, "The Year of James Harden Is All About the NBA Playoffs," 6 Apr. 2018
Yet the film doesn’t dwell on Ted’s drinking habits, treating them matter-of-factly, and Curran implies that his relationship with Mary Jo was strictly platonic.

— alan zilberman, kansascity, "‘Chappaquiddick’ plays it fair," 5 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'platonic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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 feelings or a relationship that are 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.

Origin and Etymology of platonic

Latin platonicus, from Greek platōnikos, from Platōn Plato

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1533

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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PLATONIC Defined for English Language Learners

platonic

adjective

Definition of platonic for English Language Learners

: of, relating to, or having a close relationship in which there is no romance or sex

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platonic

Definition of platonic

platonically

Examples of platonic in a Sentence

Recent Examples of platonic from the Web

Two Meanings of platonic

Origin and Etymology of platonic

PLATONIC Defined for English Language Learners

platonic

Definition of platonic for English Language Learners

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platonic

Definition of platonic

platonically

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