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/fˈɪgjərətɪv/ Listen

adjective

Figurative adj.

Representing by a figure, or by resemblance; typical; representative. "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."

Used in a sense that is tropical, as a metaphor; not literal; applied to words and expressions.

Abounding in figures of speech; flowery; florid; as, a highly figurative description.

Relating to the representation of form or figure by drawing, carving, etc. See Figure, n., 2. "They belonged to a nation dedicated to the figurative arts, and they wrote for a public familiar with painted form."

Figurative counterpoint or Figurative descant. See under Figurate.

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Etymology of 'Figurative'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Figurative" Quotes from Famous Books

... the Dean of Faculty and Mr. Penney, joined to that of some four or five hundred respectable ladies of both sexes besides, all sticking out around him in cubes, hexagons, and prisms, like cleft almonds in a bishop-cake. Hardly inferior in the figurative is the passage which follows: 'The Doctor (Dr. Chalmers) rides on at a rickety trot,—Messrs. Cunningham, Begg, and Candlish by turns whipping up the wornout Rosenante, and making the rider believe that windmills are Church principles, ...

— Leading Articles on Various Subjects • Hugh Miller

... The cries and figurative language of Pippo attracted the attention of the multitude, who were additionally amused by the mixture of dialects in which he uttered his appeals. The least important trifles, by giving a new direction to popular sympathies, frequently become the parents of ...

— The Headsman - The Abbaye des Vignerons • James Fenimore Cooper

... at times into very ridiculous blunders. I once heard him say, after having spent some time in explaining his text, "But that I may devil-hope the subject a little more fully, I would observe, that the words are mephitical." He, of course, meant to say, metaphorical, figurative, not mephitical which means of a bad smell. My plan secured me against ...

— Modern Skepticism: A Journey Through the Land of Doubt and Back Again - A Life Story • Joseph Barker

... to whom it was dictated. It ran thus:—"We go upon the principle that, in order to pull the matter out of the fire, a fourth of a fifth of a loaf is better than no bread, which the terms proposed are."] See the section on figurative language (p. 76) in Nichols' English Composition. But do not take Nichols himself as a model; I find him writing thus:—"Avoid an accumulation of little words. The luggage of particles is an impediment to strong speech and a jar in the harmony of style," which is nearly as funny ...

— Journalism for Women - A Practical Guide • E.A. Bennett

... her friend, and her eyes twinkled. It was evident that some mystery was in the air, and that the word 'tonic' was used in a figurative rather than a literal sense. Mellicent pondered, hit on the solution of chocolates, and being an inveterate sweet-tooth, found consolation in the prospect. Perhaps Peggy was going to present her with some of the treasures ...

— More About Peggy • Mrs G. de Horne Vaizey

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