figurative
adjective
Lewis Mumford
Did you know?
Words and phrases can have both literal and figurative meanings, and we all use words with both kinds of meanings every day of our lives. We can literally close the door to a room, or we can figuratively close the door to further negotiations—that is, refuse to take part in them. Figurative language includes figures of speech, such as similes ("she's been like a sister to me") and metaphors ("a storm of protest"). And sometimes it's hard to tell whether a phrase is literal or figurative: If I say I "picked up" a little Spanish in Mexico, is that literal or figurative? You've probably noticed that lots of the definitions in this book show both a literal meaning (often something physical) and a figurative meaning (often nonphysical).
Synonyms
Examples of figurative in a Sentence
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2024
Over the next near-century, researchers attributed around 430 figurative geoglyphs to the Nazca people.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Sep. 2024
The Australian alt-R&B group relied on their literal and figurative family bond to overcome the odds stacked against them to release their new album
Written by Brendan Menapace |
In the study of literature, there are seven types of conflict.
—Brendan Menapace, SPIN, 4 Nov. 2024
Benson recognized the marketplace implication of a literal and figurative proximity to art, above all its capacity to infuse her store and its wares with a heady sense of downtown cool.
—Natasha Degen, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Figurative.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/figurative. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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figurative
adjective
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