as in abstract
using elements of form (as color, line, or texture) with little or no attempt at creating a realistic picture
the gallery owner is resigned to the fact that nonfigurative works generally do not appeal to tourists
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of nonfigurative
Lee Ungno has great facility with ink, for example, but executing the densely interwoven vines of a wisteria, frequently a symbol of longevity, to resemble a thoroughly nonfigurative Jackson Pollock drip-painting seems dismissive in a perhaps unintentionally jokey way.
—
Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2022
Abstraction or nonfigurative art was held, if not in some disdain, at least as something less pressing.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2022
Back then, Pop Art—of which Oldenburg’s work was a kind of rough version—was puzzling, if not a bit scandalous to an art world that had, only recently, barely gotten used to the nonfigurative paint pyrotechnics of Abstract Expressionism.
—Peter Plagens, WSJ, 22 July 2022
Largely inspired by Taeuber’s tours de force of design, experiments in nonfigurative art took hold in the Dada circle.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 29 Nov. 2021
Two nonfigurative pieces manage to appear simultaneously fractured and exalted.
—Washington Post, 11 Aug. 2021
Although the caves contain a mix of figurative and nonfigurative images, the researchers focused their efforts on the latter variety.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2018
Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2022
Abstraction or nonfigurative art was held, if not in some disdain, at least as something less pressing.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2022
Back then, Pop Art—of which Oldenburg’s work was a kind of rough version—was puzzling, if not a bit scandalous to an art world that had, only recently, barely gotten used to the nonfigurative paint pyrotechnics of Abstract Expressionism.
—Peter Plagens, WSJ, 22 July 2022
Largely inspired by Taeuber’s tours de force of design, experiments in nonfigurative art took hold in the Dada circle.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 29 Nov. 2021
Two nonfigurative pieces manage to appear simultaneously fractured and exalted.
—Washington Post, 11 Aug. 2021
Although the caves contain a mix of figurative and nonfigurative images, the researchers focused their efforts on the latter variety.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2018
Thesaurus Entries Near nonfigurative
Cite this Entry
“Nonfigurative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonfigurative. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share