figurative

American  

[fig-yer-uh-tiv] / ˈfɪg yər ə tɪv /

adjective

1. of the nature of or involving a figure of speech, especially a metaphor; metaphorical and not literal.

   The word "head" has several figurative senses, as in "She's the head of the company."

   Synonyms:

   symbolic, metaphorical

2. metaphorically so called.

   His remark was a figurative boomerang.

3. abounding in or fond of figures of speech.

   Elizabethan poetry is highly figurative.

   Synonyms:

   grandiloquent, florid, elaborate, flowery, ornamental, ornate

4. representing by means of a figure or likeness, as in drawing or sculpture.

5. representing by a figure or emblem; emblematic.

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figurative British  

/ ˈfɪɡərətɪv /

adjective

1. of the nature of, resembling, or involving a figure of speech; not literal; metaphorical

2. using or filled with figures of speech

3. representing by means of an emblem, likeness, figure, etc

4. (in painting, sculpture, etc) of, relating to, or characterized by the naturalistic representation of the external world

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Other Word Forms

• figuratively adverb
• figurativeness noun
• nonfigurative adjective
• nonfigurativeness noun
• semifigurative adjective
• semifigurativeness noun
• unfigurative adjective
• unfigurativeness noun

Etymology

Origin of figurative

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English figuratif, fygurative, from Old French figuratif, from Late Latin figūrātīvus; figure ( def. ), -ative

Explanation

When speech or writing is not literal, it is figurative, like when you say you have a ton of homework. You don't really have 2000 pounds of homework, do you? Also, when art depicts a figure from life it is figurative, like a figurative drawing of a dancer. The adjective figurative comes from the Old French word figuratif, which means “metaphorical.” Any figure of speech — a statement or phrase not intended to be understood literally — is figurative. You say your hands are frozen, or you are so hungry you could eat a horse. That's being figurative. In art, figure means "human or animal form," so a figurative drawing might show horses running across a field.

Example Sentences

He also paid for windows with geometric designs rather than traditional figurative scenes, in line with Islamic rulings against the drawings of creatures.

From BBC • Feb. 15, 2026

"The most important centre of Islamic civilisation in the 15th century endorsed figurative art," he added.

From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026

And this episode in the three-part Vice sports series “Out of Bounds” will likely have the effect of a figurative custard pie in the face of the heavily armed and coercive DraftKings-FanDuel-powered juggernaut.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2026

So it didn’t matter what was being said about us by outside voices, because inside our literal and figurative tent, we believed.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 7, 2025

So crowded is our stock of figurative language that every profession—legal, corporate, fashion, artistic, literary, and so on—seems to have a collection all its own.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

Related Words

• allegorical
• descriptive
• fanciful
• florid
• metaphoric
• metaphorical
• pictorial