figurative
Americanadjective
-
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
-
metaphorically so called.
His remark was a figurative boomerang.
-
abounding in or fond of figures of speech.
Elizabethan poetry is highly figurative.
- Synonyms:
- grandiloquent, florid, elaborate, flowery, ornamental, ornate
-
representing by means of a figure or likeness, as in drawing or sculpture.
-
representing by a figure or emblem; emblematic.
adjective
-
of the nature of, resembling, or involving a figure of speech; not literal; metaphorical
-
using or filled with figures of speech
-
representing by means of an emblem, likeness, figure, etc
-
(in painting, sculpture, etc) of, relating to, or characterized by the naturalistic representation of the external world
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
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.
The concept of a theater family is both literal and figurative in “American Classic,” and while there might be a revival—as in a second season—one hopes not.
Harmonia Rosales’ Black figurative paintings combine Eurocentric artistic traditions with African diasporic cosmologies as a way to course-correct the historical erasure of Black images from classical narratives.
From Los Angeles Times
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
"The most important centre of Islamic civilisation in the 15th century endorsed figurative art," he added.
From Barron's
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.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
