figuration
Americannoun
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the act of shaping into a particular figure.
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the resulting figure or shape.
emblematic figurations of the sun and the moon.
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the act of representing figuratively.
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a figurative representation.
allegorical figurations.
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the act of marking or adorning with a design.
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Music.
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the employment of passing notes or other embellishments.
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the figuring of a bass part.
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noun
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music
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the employment of characteristic patterns of notes, esp in variations on a theme
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decoration or florid ornamentation in general
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the act or an instance of representing figuratively, as by means of allegory or emblem
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a figurative or emblematic representation
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the act of decorating with a design
Etymology
Origin of figuration
1400–50; late Middle English figuracioun < Latin figūrātiōn- (stem of figūrātiō ) “a shaping” ( see figure ( def. )) + -ion
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.
But Bacon, the king of tortured, expressionistic figuration, and De Kooning, master of brashly colorful gestural abstraction, are only now being brought together by Lévy Gorvy Dayan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 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 layering of topicality, color sensitivity, art-historical ancestors and figuration and abstraction in “40 Acres and a Unicorn” recurs throughout the brief eight-year period being surveyed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2025
“I don’t think it’s possible to have a conversation about figuration without going back to this very fecund moment of Black artistic development.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 18, 2024
Over a rolling figuration is a melody first for horn, then oboe, the Meditation motive.
From Franz Liszt by James Huneker
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