nonliteral
- a word derived from literal.
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.
Also, the inventive, nonliteral staging by director Zack Winokur, choreographer Pam Tanowitz, co-set designers Mimi Lien and Jack Forman and lighting designer John Torres is astonishing to look at but not always intelligible.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025
When the photos of Parker and Corbett first landed last month, many fans brushed them off, figuring Aidan probably shows up in a dream sequence, flashback or other nonliteral context.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2023
It’s just a reminder that art, like the unconscious or the spirit world, has its own nonliteral reality.
From New York Times • Feb. 12, 2019
They began to be used in nonliteral ways, and so became not just words that shocked and offended but words with which people could swear.
From Salon • May 11, 2013
A metaphor suggests comparison of the phenomenon with another by the nonliteral application of a word.
From Humanistic Nursing by Paterson, Josephine G.
