metaphorical

Also met·a·phor·ic

[met-uh-fawr-i-kuhl, -for-]

adjective

1. involving, invoking, or intended to be taken as a metaphor, something used symbolically to represent something else, suggesting a comparison or resemblance.

   Our foreign policy blunder has given the insurgents a metaphorical green light to engage in violent tactics in pursuit of their imperial ambitions.

Other Word Forms

• metaphorically adverb
• metaphoricalness noun
• hypermetaphoric adjective
• hypermetaphorical adjective
• nonmetaphoric adjective
• nonmetaphorical adjective
• semimetaphoric adjective
• semimetaphorical adjective
• submetaphoric adjective
• submetaphorical adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of metaphorical¹

First recorded in 1560–70; metaphor ( def. ) + -ical ( def. )

Example Sentences

In both songs, Swift is unapologetically petty, offering her foes a metaphorical bouquet of flowers thick with thorns.

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Badu treated “Mama’s Gun” like a “metaphorical diary” — as she does with all of her music — allowing herself to release everything that she was experiencing in real time.

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Tadpoles become toads, and, in tales such as this one, metaphorical toads can be — whether through will, chance, or wishes — transformed into something else.

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Mr Ford said: "Originally Bagpuss was like your grandad, he was there in the metaphorical armchair telling you about his tales and adventures gone by."

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Public opinion polls have shown that the party’s metaphorical church is struggling and fragile; its pews are thinning.

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Related Words

• allegorical 
• descriptive 
• metaphoric www.thesaurus.com
• symbolic