Platonic Meaning
/pləˈtɒnɪk/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjNeither sexual nor romantic in nature; being or exhibiting platonic love.
adjOf or relating to the ancient Greek philosopher Plato or his philosophies.
Sentence Examples
He's not my boyfriend, it's just platonic love with benefits!
Tom is just a platonic friend.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
None
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
Their relationship was purely ____, with no romantic feelings or physical attraction.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Their relationship remained entirely ____, built on mutual respect and intellectual companionship.
Word Origin & History
From Latin Platōnicus. By surface analysis, Platon (“Plato”) + -ic (“relating to”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The homosexual dismisses heterosexual love as a distasteful bondage to normalcy and bourgeois domestication, but the Platonic lover of the soul is dismissing all sexuality as bondage to the physical world."
— 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 193:
"Plato gave so brilliant and impressive a defense of this common human feeling, that the doctrine of the reality of abstract objects has been known as the platonic theory of ideas ever since."
— 1902, William James, “Lecture 3”, in The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature […] , New York, N.Y.; London: Longmans, Green, and Co. […], →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Their relationship was purely ____, with no romantic feelings or physical attraction.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Their relationship remained entirely ____, built on mutual respect and intellectual companionship.