Please look at the following sentences
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On Thursday the squad scored a symbolic victory in their battle for equal pay when the Senate passed a non-binding resolution calling on the U.S. Soccer Federation to "immediately eliminate gender pay inequity and treat all athletes with the same respect and dignity."
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Hillary Clinton won the Democratic primary in Nebraska, but it was a symbolic victory only. Democrats in Nebraska caucused in March and chose Sanders.
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A symbolic victory for people power in Ireland in this link. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ruairi-mckiernan/a-symbolic-victory-for-pe_1_b_5490935.html
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Greenpeace protesters claim symbolic victory as Shell oil ship leaves Portland.
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2015/07/greenpeace_protesters_claim_sy.html
I don't understand what is meant by symbolic in 'symbolic victory' in the above sentences. Does it mean that the victory symbolises something and stand for something? And what difference would not using symbolic in the above sentence make to the meaning of the sentence?
Best Answer
This is slightly more complicated than LawrenceC makes it out to be.
Symbolic can have two connotations: one positive, one negative.
Positive: this is best portrayed in your very first sentence, but also in the third and the fourth.
The expression symbolic victory here means that this is an important victory, as it shows the people (most often in battles, be it wars or even fights against the government) that the fight isn't over.
Since it is possible to win one battle, like the symbolic victory demonstrated it, there's no reason to surrender the war. Thus, the victory here is a symbol of hope for the people.
Negative: this is the connotation LawrenceC talked about, where the victory is only symbolic and won't actually change anything, as you can see in your second sentence.
Both these connotations have stemed from the original meaning of serving as a symbol of something, but have grown quite different in meaning depending on the context.