metaphorical

American  

[met-uh-fawr-i-kuhl, -for-] / ˌmɛt əˈfɔr ɪ kəl, -ˈfɒr- /

Also metaphoric

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.

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Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of metaphorical

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

Example Sentences

The description says it is a metaphorical symbol used by the Akan people of Ghana to express “the importance of reaching back to knowledge gained in the past and bringing it into the present.”

From Los Angeles Times

It’s “a metaphorical escape from the Great Depression to an Edenic place where the rules of supply and demand do not apply.”

From The Wall Street Journal

In Helen Oyeyemi’s hands, the story takes on a more metaphorical form.

From The Wall Street Journal

Sophie, especially in that night, the mask makes her brave and courageous; when she takes off the physical mask, that’s when the metaphorical mask actually comes into play.

From Los Angeles Times

Here, the evildoers receive sumptuous cloaks along with their metaphorical daggers.

From Salon

Related Words

• allegorical
• descriptive
• metaphoric
• symbolic