figural
adjective
fig·ur·al ˈfi-g(y)ə-rəl 
1
: figurative sense 2a
2
: of, relating to, or consisting of human or animal figures
a figural composition
Synonyms
- extended
- figurative
- metaphoric
- metaphorical
- tropical
- tropological
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
“a candidate running for office” is just a figural expression
Recent Examples on the Web My Body, showcasing three decades of Grossman’s figural practice, extends to a show of the same name on view at the Chelsea gallery. 
Natasha Gural, Forbes, 19 May 2022 Several of the figural depictions show a type of pattern or sash on the torso. CNN, 4 May 2022 But, almost always, community groups want a figural monument to commemorate someone who is more important to that community. Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2022 The artist provided The Dance and La Musique, massive things though figural and not immersive and not an homage to nature. Brian T. Allen, National Review, 26 Feb. 2022 Especially a table lamp, which does double duty as a figural object in conversation with other elements of a room and, of course, as a source of light and warmth. Ming Thompson, Curbed, 14 July 2021 Pollock is praised for pouring and dripping, as though inviting randomness, but one senses the significant amount of figural underpainting that exists beneath the surface. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2021 Zach Snyder’s Justice League tried the baroque approach, externalizing heroic virtue in complicated figural relationships, a Burial of Count Orgaz with different capes. Matthew Carey Salyer, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2021 Some hilyas were strictly without any figural representation, while others contained a drawing of the Kaaba, the holy shrine in Mecca, or a rose that symbolized the beauty of the prophet. Suleyman Dost, The Conversation, 24 Nov. 2020 See More
Natasha Gural, Forbes, 19 May 2022 Several of the figural depictions show a type of pattern or sash on the torso. CNN, 4 May 2022 But, almost always, community groups want a figural monument to commemorate someone who is more important to that community. Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2022 The artist provided The Dance and La Musique, massive things though figural and not immersive and not an homage to nature. Brian T. Allen, National Review, 26 Feb. 2022 Especially a table lamp, which does double duty as a figural object in conversation with other elements of a room and, of course, as a source of light and warmth. Ming Thompson, Curbed, 14 July 2021 Pollock is praised for pouring and dripping, as though inviting randomness, but one senses the significant amount of figural underpainting that exists beneath the surface. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2021 Zach Snyder’s Justice League tried the baroque approach, externalizing heroic virtue in complicated figural relationships, a Burial of Count Orgaz with different capes. Matthew Carey Salyer, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2021 Some hilyas were strictly without any figural representation, while others contained a drawing of the Kaaba, the holy shrine in Mecca, or a rose that symbolized the beauty of the prophet. Suleyman Dost, The Conversation, 24 Nov. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English, borrowed from Late Latin figūrālis "of a figure, symbolic," from Latin figūra "form, shape, figure entry 1" + -ālis -al entry 1
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
figural
adjective
as in figurative
expressing one thing in terms normally used for another "a candidate running for office" is just a figural expression Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- figurative
- metaphoric
- metaphorical
- symbolic
- symbolical
- tropological
- allegorical
- tropical
- emblematic
- emblematical
- extended
- Aesopic
- nonliteral
- euphemistic
- catachrestic
- Aesopian
- veritable
- sylleptic
- catachrestical
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- literal
- nonfigurative
- nonsymbolic
- nonmetaphorical