figurative
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."
metaphorically so called: His remark was a figurative boomerang.
abounding in or fond of figures of speech: Elizabethan poetry is highly figurative.
representing by means of a figure or likeness, as in drawing or sculpture.
representing by a figure or emblem; emblematic.
Origin of figurative
1Other words for figurative
1 | metaphorical, not literal, symbolic |
3 | ornate, ornamental, flowery, elaborate, florid, grandiloquent |
Other words from figurative
- fig·ur·a·tive·ly, adverb
- fig·ur·a·tive·ness, noun
- non·fig·ur·a·tive, adjective
- non·fig·ur·a·tive·ness, noun
- sem·i·fig·ur·a·tive, adjective
- sem·i·fig·ur·a·tive·ness, noun
- un·fig·ur·a·tive, adjective
- un·fig·ur·a·tive·ness, noun
Words that may be confused with figurative
Words Nearby figurative
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use figurative in a sentence
Thus, these thousands of known exoplanets are only the tip of the figurative exoplanet iceberg.
Where Aliens Could Be Watching Us - Issue 106: Intelligent Life | Lisa Kaltenegger | September 16, 2021 | NautilusThis is when he switched from abstraction to a style of figurative art engaged both with brute politics and the existential comedy and influenced by underground comics.
Museums are still mounting major exhibitions this fall, with no shortage of big-name artists | Sebastian Smee | September 10, 2021 | Washington PostIf we retain these essential accommodations, we can open the figurative office doors to more workers with disabilities than ever before.
If Employers Are Serious About Meaningful Change, They Must Reorient Jobs to Center Around Workers | Darren Walker | August 12, 2021 | TimeThey’re warming us up for the show ahead, promising great wonders to come as they set up for us that figurative fourth wall we all love so much.
Annette Is Gorgeous to Look at But All the Wrong Kinds of Weird | Stephanie Zacharek | August 6, 2021 | TimeJust as Google and social media have enabled each of us to reach into the figurative diaries and desk drawers of anyone we might be curious about, law enforcement agencies today have access to powerful new engines of data processing and association.
Inside the rise of police department real-time crime centers | Rowan Moore Gerety | April 19, 2021 | MIT Technology Review
Bauer literally had a Rosebud moment, but may not have had a figurative one.
No, says the confused C.K, who expected the figurative nature of his statement to be obvious.
The Movement for Patient Access to Doctors’ Notes Is Growing | Janelle Dumalaon | June 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTCheshire is less interested in the literal, chromosomal answer than the figurative one.
This Week’s Hot Reads: Dec. 2, 2013 | Mythili Rao and Thomas Flynn, Mythili Rao, Thomas Flynn | December 2, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTIn that moment, Will has fully embraced the figurative dark side.
In The Good Wife’s Explosive ‘Hitting the Fan,’ That’s Exactly What Happens | Chancellor Agard | October 28, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTIn a figurative way, palimpsest refers to an object or place that reflects its own history.
To use your figurative language, when this wormeaten monarchy is broken, what will come out of the ruins?
Balsamo, The Magician | Alexander DumasThere is a generally accepted division of language into literal and figurative.
English: Composition and Literature | W. F. (William Franklin) WebsterWhen a person says, “He is a bright boy,” he has used the word “bright” in a sense that is not literal; the use is figurative.
English: Composition and Literature | W. F. (William Franklin) Websterfigurative language employs words with meanings not strictly literal, but varying from their ordinary definitions.
English: Composition and Literature | W. F. (William Franklin) WebsterThe concentrations are figurative, but may be taken to represent actual concentrations, such as 0.015 molar, etc.
The Elements of Qualitative Chemical Analysis, vol. 1, parts 1 and 2. | Julius Stieglitz
British Dictionary definitions for figurative
/ (ˈfɪɡərətɪv) /
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
Derived forms of figurative
- figuratively, adverb
- figurativeness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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