Meaning & use
platonically
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Meanings
adverbnot comparable
In a way that involves close friendship and affection but no romance or desire.
Grammar: Usually follows the verb: they live together platonically.
Patterns
- love someone platonically
- be platonically involved
They have lived together platonically for years.
I love him, but only platonically.
The two actors insisted they were just platonically close.
adverbnot comparablerareliterary
In a way that relates to or follows the ideas of the Greek philosopher Plato, as in an idealized love.
Grammar: A rare, literary use found in philosophy or poetry.
Patterns
- love platonically
The poet adored her platonically, as an ideal of beauty.
Medieval writers described courtly love as platonically pure.
Common combinations
- platonically involved
- The roommates are platonically involved in running a shared business.
- love platonically
- He loved his best friend platonically.
- share a bed platonically
- Friends in the small cabin shared a bed platonically.
- just platonically
- We went to the dance just platonically.
- platonically close
- The pair remained platonically close after college.
Synonyms and how they differ
- as friends
- As friends is the everyday phrase, and platonically is slightly more formal and stresses the lack of romance.
- chastely
- Chastely suggests avoiding physical intimacy on moral grounds, which platonically does not.
- non-romantically
- Non-romantically is a clear but clumsy alternative that just states there is no romance.
- innocently
- Innocently stresses lack of bad intent, not the nature of the feeling.
Opposites
Word family
- platonic adjective
- friendly but without romance
- Platonism noun
- the philosophy of Plato
- Platonist noun
- a follower of Plato's philosophy
- platonic love noun
- affection without desire
Commonly confused: platonically or plutonically?
platonically vs plutonically
Plutonically relates to the planet Pluto or deep volcanic rock, and has nothing to do with friendship.
Practice
They are close friends who care about each other ____, with no romantic feelings.
Choose one answer.
Platonically means with affection but without romance. Romantically, passionately and physically all suggest the opposite.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “platonically”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.