icons

noun

variants also ikons
plural of icon
1
as in heroes
a person who is the object of extreme or uncritical devotion Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and other icons of pop culture

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in symbols
a written or printed mark that is meant to convey information to the reader the player's remote control is very user-friendly as it doesn't use any icons that you haven't seen a million times before

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in manifestations
a visible representation of something abstract (as a quality) cites Marlene Dietrich as an icon of old-time Hollywood glamour

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in celebrities
a person who is widely known and usually much talked about a sports bar filled with photos of icons from football, basketball, and baseball

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in pictures
a two dimensional design intended to look like a person or thing any icon of the Deity is regarded as blasphemous by adherents of that religion

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of icons The main cast is a veritable potpourri of icons. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 24 June 2026 Opening select dates will be Nashville egg punk icons Snõõper as well as the Raleigh rockers Truth Club. — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 23 June 2026 For midcentury fanatics, look to Design Within Reach this week for up to 30% off thousands of icons, including these Rey dining chairs. — Kate McGregor, Architectural Digest, 1 July 2026 The entire collection was designed by Michael Schmidt, a wardrobe, jewelry and interior designer who has styled icons like Madonna, Cher and Hailey Bieber. — Sara Belcher, PEOPLE, 24 June 2026 Clive Davis, the legendary music producer of industry icons from Janis Joplin and Whitney Houston to Billy Joel and Santana, has died. — Jason Kravarik, CNN Money, 22 June 2026 The new production will follow Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo from their comic book origins to becoming global pop culture icons, battling familiar villains along the way. — Arushi Jacob, Variety, 24 June 2026 As a nod to the building’s legacy, where Hollywood’s earliest icons broke away from major studios to control their own work, AJU Continuum has launched its own in-house booking team for the live entertainment venue. — Kailyn Brown, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026 The diverse lineup also includes pre-war masterpieces such as a 1939 Horch 855 and 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540 K, alongside racing icons like a 1931 Alfa Romeo 6C and a 1955 Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing. — Matthew MacConnell, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for icons
  1. heroes
  2. symbols
  3. manifestations
  4. celebrities
  5. pictures
  6. idols
  7. images
  8. stars
Noun
  • One-pot meals are dinnertime heroes, and this one packs a ton of flavor in an easy-to-prepare recipe.
    — Jenna Sims, Southern Living, 8 July 2026
  • Part of what draws readers to particular genre books, whether on Amazon or at airport kiosks, is the fealty to hyper-specific tropes and reliable plot patterns, the predictable and satisfying arcs of its heroines and heroes.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 8 July 2026
Definition of heroes
Noun
  • While the Founding Fathers are often at the center of Revolutionary War history, one of the country’s most recognizable symbols is traditionally associated with an ordinary woman working from her home in Philadelphia.
    — Pete Cuddihy, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026
  • Both exist in spite of the odds, symbols of perseverance and community — memorials to those who fought to establish a new country and a new state, and who happened to do it in a place that proved particularly untamable.
    — Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026
Definition of symbols
Noun
  • The persistence of these misconceptions matters because clinicians and the public alike may expect Ebola to look dramatic from the outset, when in reality its early manifestations often resemble many other common infectious diseases.
    — Krutika Kuppalli, STAT, 26 June 2026
  • The Cane Ridge Revival would become an epochal moment in American religious history, one of the most visible manifestations of what historians would later refer to as the Second Great Awakening.
    — Michael Luo, New Yorker, 14 June 2026
Definition of manifestations
Noun
  • Since 1918, Barcelona's Majestic Hotel & Spa Barcelona has been warmly welcoming travelers, including celebrities, artists, and politicians.
    — Beth Luberecki, USA Today, 7 July 2026
  • However, the polarizing trend has officially been declared *the* pants of summer 2026 thanks to celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Jennifer Lopez, Hailey Bieber, and Gwyneth Paltrow.
    — Tessa Petak, InStyle, 6 July 2026
Definition of celebrities
Noun
  • Other pictures on unofficial Telegram channels showed residents crowding into underground stations.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 2 July 2026
  • Ranging from the film pioneer Georges Méliès all the way through 2024’s Anora, Thomson’s survey covers silent pictures, the talkies, the studio era, the New Hollywood, and the age of streaming.
    — Michael O’Donnell, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026
Definition of pictures
Noun
  • For a place of worship the temple was plain, with a long hallway of overlapping purple carpet and idols carved crudely from blush-colored marble.
    — Danielle Parker, CBS News, 30 June 2026
  • No longer can basketball executives plan for a distant future while waiting on their teen idols to grow up.
    — Candace Buckner, New York Times, 24 June 2026
Definition of idols
Noun
  • In photo images shared by the Parks and Rec Department, an outdoor trash barrel sits ringed by bags of refuse collected next to a playing field.
    — Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 8 July 2026
  • TikTokers today may be a great distance from the church fathers, but their images still resonate – even, and perhaps especially, on the internet.
    — Denva Gallant, The Conversation, 8 July 2026
Definition of images
Noun
  • The first major update came in 1795 with the addition of two stars for Vermont and Kentucky, and the most recent change came in 1960 after Hawaii became the 50th state.
    — Pete Cuddihy, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026
  • So far, historical society members have determined the giant cotton broadcloth flag bears just 48 stars representing the US states – a design used only until 1959, before Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the union.
    — Rebekah Riess, CNN Money, 4 July 2026
Definition of stars

Browse Nearby Words

iconographic
icons
icy
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Icons.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/icons. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on icons

Nglish: Translation of icons for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tacit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All