platonic
adjective
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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
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.
Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2024
The Undoing 2020, HBO The platonic ideal of the Nicole Kidman TV Experience.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 26 Oct. 2024
There’s a rather platonic theme in this film: A leader should be someone who doesn’t want to lead, who doesn’t want that power.
—Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Oct. 2024
For most of cybersecurity’s existence as a formal discipline, the winds pushed us toward some Platonic ideal of prevention.
—Bob Tinker, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Platonic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/platonic. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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