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totem

[toh-tuhm] / ˈtoʊ təm /
NOUN
pole
Synonyms


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

There was a collective swoon when news came through on Thursday that McTominay, the totem, had an iffy tummy, but he's good now.

From BBC Jun. 13, 2026

Fashioning your lead actor as a totem to project your thoughts about apathy and loneliness would be a risky move for anyone other than writer-director Amanda Kramer, who’s made a career out of brazen chicness.

From Salon Jun. 10, 2026

His sculptures, composed of stacked forms and glazed in natural colors, bring to mind chimneys, duct work and totem poles.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 27, 2026

"It is a totem of celebration for Chinese people and people around the world," he said.

From Barron's Feb. 13, 2026

Cole asked, unfolding a heavy wool blanket, woven with colorful blue-and-red images of a totem pole.

From "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen

Early in his career Noguchi was identified as a sculptor, known for modernist abstractions—enigmas in wood, stone, metals, plaster, ceramic and aluminum—that conjure totems, boulders, edifices and artifacts, while synthesizing Western and Eastern traditions.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 1, 2026

Turner, who died Wednesday at age 87, elbowed his way to the forefront of modern television by prioritizing profit over deeper questions about whether certain cultural totems should be held sacrosanct.

From Salon May 8, 2026

Down here in Australia there's a world of awe-inspiring wonders to behold, natural and man-made totems so stunning they can make your jaw drop to the floor.

From BBC Jun. 27, 2025

What Lévi-Strauss concluded about totems can be applied to dioramas, too.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 4, 2024

Through the trees, she saw one of the totems.

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray




Vocabulary lists containing totem


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