adjective
figurative
FIG-yuh-ruh-tiv/ˈfɪɡjərətɪv/
Expressing meaning beyond the literal sense of words.
She uses the figurative phrase “time flies,” and he smiles.
Etymology
The root meaning “form or shape” connects to figures of speech: language shaped into metaphors or allegories. Figurative wording conveys meaning through those figures rather than through a strictly literal reading.
In context
if you use figurative language, you're using a metaphor or a simile uh in order to describe something.
More examples
- Calling this tiny kitchen a shoebox is figurative, not literal.
- The poem uses figurative language to describe loneliness as winter.
- Figuratively speaking, we hit a wall when our funding disappeared.
Forms
figurative
figuratively adverb — In a nonliteral or imaginative sense.
figure of speech noun — An expression used for a nonliteral effect.
Similar words
- nonliteral
- Emphasizes departure from literal meaning rather than imaginative expression.
- metaphorical
- Specifically describes one thing in terms of another.