figurative
Etymology

From Middle French figuratif.

Pronunciation
  • IPA: /ˈfɪɡəɹətɪv/
Adjective

figurative

  1. Of use as a metaphor, simile, metonym or other figure of speech, as opposed to literal; using figures; as when saying that someone who eats more than they should is a pig or like a pig.
  2. Metaphorically so called.
  3. With many figures of speech.
  4. Emblematic, symbolic; representative, exemplative
    • 1594–1597, Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Will[iam] Stansby [for Matthew Lownes], published 1611, →OCLC ↗, (please specify the page):
      This, they will say, was figurative, and served, by God's appointment, but for a time, to shadow out the true glory of a more divine sanctity.
  5. (art) Representing forms recognisable in life and clearly derived from real object sources, in contrast to abstract art.
    • 1875-1886, John Addington Symonds, Renaissance in Italy
      They belonged to a nation dedicated to the figurative arts, and they wrote for a public familiar with painted form.
Antonyms Related terms Translations Translations
  • German: im übertragenen Sinne
Translations
  • German: bilderreich
Translations


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