metaphorically

American  

[met-uh-fawr-ik-lee, -for-] / ˌmɛt əˈfɔr ɪk li, -ˈfɒr- /

adverb

1. in a way that constitutes a metaphor, a figure of speech that refers to one thing in terms of another, suggesting a resemblance between the two.

   The native Romani word “drakhalin,” whose literal meaning is “grapevine,” is often used metaphorically to mean the internet.

2. figuratively speaking; not literally.

   We are metaphorically on top of the world over his success and look forward to his return.

3. as a symbol or emblem representing something else.

   In various biblical contexts, salt is used metaphorically to signify permanence, loyalty, value, and purification.

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Other Word Forms

• nonmetaphorically
  adverb
• semimetaphorically
  adverb
• submetaphorically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of metaphorically

metaphorical ( def. ) + -ly

Compare meaning

How does metaphorically compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• metaphorically vs. figuratively

Example Sentences

Rebecca, George’s daughter, is metaphorically a winter lamb, which yields a lesson that it isn’t nice to exclude people or animals.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

Here, his mournful ex-convict is finally tasting freedom in a country that wants to keep him metaphorically shackled.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

The tendrils of the tightly strung material connect, both physically and metaphorically, the wartime experiences documented in the photocopied pages scattered about, but they also bring to mind out-of-control cell growth and cancerous disease.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025

She sings that starring in 2:22 led to a distance developing between the couple, both literally and metaphorically, which resulted in Harbour suggesting an open relationship.

From BBC • Oct. 30, 2025

It’s not like I had some utterly poignant, well-lit memory of a healthy father pushing a healthy child and the child saying higher higher higher or some other metaphorically resonant moment.

From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green