figurative
adjective
Simple meaning
Not literal; using figures of speech.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
figyeruhtivSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈfɪɡjɚətɪv
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
used of the meanings of words or text
Not literal; using figures of speech
Of use as a metaphor, simile, metonym or other figure of speech, as opposed to literal; using figures.
With many figures of speech.
Metaphorically so called.
Emblematic, symbolic; representative, exemplative
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (used of the meanings of words or text) not literal; using figures of speech
Used this way, figurative is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use figurative
- “Figurative language.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: not literal
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.