figuration

American  

[fig-yuh-rey-shuhn] / ˌfɪg jəˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of shaping into a particular figure.

2. the resulting figure or shape.

   emblematic figurations of the sun and the moon.

3. the act of representing figuratively.

4. a figurative representation.

   allegorical figurations.

5. the act of marking or adorning with a design.

6. Music.

   1. the employment of passing notes or other embellishments.

   2. the figuring of a bass part.

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figuration British  

/ ˌfɪɡəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. music

   1. the employment of characteristic patterns of notes, esp in variations on a theme

   2. decoration or florid ornamentation in general

2. the act or an instance of representing figuratively, as by means of allegory or emblem

3. a figurative or emblematic representation

4. the act of decorating with a design

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Etymology

Origin of figuration

1400–50; late Middle English figuracioun < Latin figūrātiōn- (stem of figūrātiō ) “a shaping” ( see figure ( def. )) + -ion

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

figuration

Moreover, one reason for all the imagining from without is the paucity of figuration from within Sunni Islam.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

He dabbled with Fauvism, Austrian Expressionism and Post-Impressionism, but like so many who experiment, these tastes gave way to the hard stuff: Abstract Expressionism and Francis Bacon-inspired figuration.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

The other was the vigorous argument between abstraction and figuration as front runner of the avant-garde, then being hard-fought in the American art world.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2025

In contrast, Brown tries to straddle two distinct idioms: abstract mark-making and impressionistic figuration.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 27, 2023

Lenz got the music, but it did not please him—it seemed to him a long movement in the nocturne style, a Babel of figuration on a lightly laid foundation.

From Chopin : the Man and His Music by James Huneker