If you use a word or expression in a figurative sense, you use it with a more abstract or imaginative meaning than its ordinary literal one.
...an event that will change your route–in both the literal and figurative sense.
Synonyms: symbolical, representative, abstract, allegorical More Synonyms of figurative
figurativelyadverb [ADVERB with verb]
Europe, with Germany literally and figuratively at its centre, is still at the startof a remarkable transformation.
2. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Figurative art is a style of art in which people and things are shown in a realistic way.
His career spanned some 50 years and encompassed both abstract and figurative painting.
figurative in British English
(ˈfɪɡərətɪv)
adjective
1.
of the nature of, resembling, or involving a figure of speech; not literal; metaphorical
2.
using or filled with figures of speech
3.
representing by means of an emblem, likeness, figure, etc
4.
(in painting, sculpture, etc) of, relating to, or characterized by the naturalistic representation of the external world
Derived forms
figuratively (ˈfiguratively)
adverb
figurativeness (ˈfigurativeness)
noun
figurative in American English
(ˈfɪgjʊrəˌtɪv; ˈfɪgjərətɪv)
adjective
1.
representing by means of a figure, symbol, or likeness
2.
having to do with figure drawing, painting, etc.
3.
not in its original, usual, literal, or exact sense; representing one concept in terms of another that may be thought of as analogous with it; metaphoric
in “screaming headlines,” the word “screaming” is a figurative use
4.
containing figures of speech
Derived forms
figuratively (ˈfiguraˌtively)
adverb
Word origin
ME < OFr figuratif < LL figurativus < L figuratus, pp. of figurare, to form, fashion < figura, figure
Examples of 'figurative' in a sentence
figurative
The gallery specialises in contemporary figurative and landscape paintings.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Her own work often walks a fine line between figurative art and something more elemental and emotional.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Has photography rendered figurative art pointless?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Photographs are allowed, but artists are still often uneasy about figurative paintings.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
So far, his art has remained figurative.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
His figurative work manages to be at once utterly contemporary and connected to the great lessons of European figurative art.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
An energetic retrospective of figurative and portrait paintings by the 20th-century American artist.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Paradoxically, much figurative art uses excessive detail to cover up, to make things more dense and to deny space.
Improve Your Landscape Painting
A moving retrospective of figurative and portrait paintings by the US artist.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
I left figurative art because I was bored of it.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
In other languages
figurative
British English: figurative ADJECTIVE
If you use a word or expression in a figurative sense, you use it with a more abstract meaning than its ordinary literal one.
...an event that will change your route–in both the literal and figurative sense.
American English: figurative
Brazilian Portuguese: figurado
Chinese: 比喻的
European Spanish: figurado
French: figuré
German: übertragen
Italian: figurato
Japanese: 比ゆ的な
Korean: 비유적인
European Portuguese: figurado
Latin American Spanish: figurado
Chinese translation of 'figurative'
figurative
(ˈfɪɡjurətɪv)
adj
[painting, style]华(華)美的 (huáměi de)
in a figurative sense用比喻意 (yòng bǐyùyì)
(adjective)
Definition
(of language) abstract, imaginative, or symbolic
both the literal and figurative sense
Synonyms
symbolical
representative
abstract
allegorical
typical
tropical (rhetoric)
imaginative
hundreds of cooking ideas and imaginative recipes
ornate
an ornate gilded staircase
descriptive
fanciful
fanciful ideas about Martian life
pictorial
metaphorical
The ship may be heading for the metaphorical rocks unless a buyer can be found.
flowery
They were using uncommonly flowery language.
florid
a liking for florid writing
poetical
emblematical
Opposites
true
,
simple
,
accurate
,
exact
,
faithful
,
factual
,
literal
,
prosaic
,
unvarnished
,
unpoetical
Additional synonyms
in the sense of fanciful
Definition
guided by unrestrained imagination
fanciful ideas about Martian life
Synonyms
unreal,
wild,
ideal,
romantic,
fantastic,
curious,
fabulous,
imaginative,
imaginary,
poetic,
extravagant,
visionary,
fairy-tale,
mythical,
whimsical,
capricious,
chimerical
in the sense of florid
Definition
very ornate and extravagant
a liking for florid writing
Synonyms
flowery,
high-flown,
figurative,
grandiloquent,
euphuistic
in the sense of flowery
Definition
(of language or style) containing elaborate literary expressions
They were using uncommonly flowery language.
Synonyms
ornate,
fancy,
rhetorical,
high-flown,
embellished,
figurative,
florid,
overwrought,
euphuistic,
baroque
Synonyms of 'figurative'
figurative
Explore 'figurative' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of imaginative
Definition
produced by or showing a creative imagination
hundreds of cooking ideas and imaginative recipes
Synonyms
creative,
original,
inspired,
enterprising,
fantastic,
clever,
stimulating,
vivid,
ingenious,
visionary,
inventive,
fanciful,
dreamy,
whimsical,
poetical
in the sense of metaphorical
The ship may be heading for the metaphorical rocks unless a buyer can be found.