Figurative — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

(used of the meanings of words or text) not literal; using figures of speech

consisting of or forming human or animal figures; ; - Herbert Read

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/fˈɪɡjɚɹətˌɪv/

🇬🇧British English

/fˈɪɡjəɹətˌɪv/

🇮🇳Indian English

/fˈɪɡjəɹətˌɪv/

4 syllables Say it as /fˈɪɡjɚɹətˌɪv/.

Examples

figurative language
a figural design
the figurative art of the humanistic tradition

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

figural nonliteral

Antonyms

literal

Parts of Speech

adjective	(used of the meanings of words or text) not literal; using figures of speech “figurative language”
adjective	consisting of or forming human or animal figures; ; - Herbert Read “a figural design”

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

bildlich

(im Sinne der Bedeutung von Wörtern oder Texten verwendet) nicht wörtlich; Verwendung von Redewendungen

🇫🇷French

figuratif

(utilisé pour la signification des mots ou du texte) non littéral ; utiliser des figures de style

🇪🇸Spanish

figurativo

(usado con los significados de palabras o texto) no literal; usando figuras retóricas

🇮🇹Italian

figurativo

(usato per i significati di parole o testo) non letterale; utilizzando figure retoriche

🇳🇱Dutch

figuurlijk

(gebruikt van de betekenis van woorden of tekst) niet letterlijk; gebruik maken van beeldspraak

🇵🇹Portuguese

figurativo

(usado para significar palavras ou texto) não literal; usando figuras de linguagem

🇷🇺Russian

образный

(используется в значениях слов или текста) не в буквальном смысле; используя фигуры речи

India

🇮🇳Hindi

आलंकारिक

(शब्दों या पाठ के अर्थों का प्रयोग) शाब्दिक नहीं; भाषण के अलंकारों का उपयोग करना

🇧🇩Bengali

রূপক

(শব্দ বা পাঠ্যের অর্থে ব্যবহৃত) আক্ষরিক নয়; বক্তৃতা পরিসংখ্যান ব্যবহার করে

🇮🇳Tamil

உருவகமான

(சொற்கள் அல்லது உரையின் அர்த்தங்களைப் பயன்படுத்துதல்) நேரடியானதல்ல; பேச்சு உருவங்களைப் பயன்படுத்தி

🇮🇳Telugu

చిత్రమైన

(పదాలు లేదా వచనం యొక్క అర్ధాలను ఉపయోగించడం) అక్షరార్థం కాదు; ప్రసంగం యొక్క బొమ్మలను ఉపయోగించడం

🇮🇳Marathi

लाक्षणिक

(शब्द किंवा मजकूराच्या अर्थांसाठी वापरलेले) शाब्दिक नाही; भाषणाच्या आकृत्या वापरणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

અલંકારિક

(શબ્દો અથવા ટેક્સ્ટના અર્થોનો ઉપયોગ) શાબ્દિક નહીં; વાણીના આંકડાઓનો ઉપયોગ કરીને

🇮🇳Kannada

ಸಾಂಕೇತಿಕ

(ಪದಗಳು ಅಥವಾ ಪಠ್ಯದ ಅರ್ಥಗಳನ್ನು ಬಳಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ) ಅಕ್ಷರಶಃ ಅಲ್ಲ; ಮಾತಿನ ಅಂಕಿಗಳನ್ನು ಬಳಸುವುದು

🇮🇳Malayalam

ആലങ്കാരികമായ

(പദങ്ങളുടെയോ വാചകത്തിൻ്റെയോ അർത്ഥങ്ങൾ ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്നത്) അക്ഷരാർത്ഥമല്ല; സംസാരത്തിൻ്റെ കണക്കുകൾ ഉപയോഗിച്ച്

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਲਾਖਣਿਕ

(ਸ਼ਬਦਾਂ ਜਾਂ ਟੈਕਸਟ ਦੇ ਅਰਥਾਂ ਦੀ ਵਰਤੋਂ) ਸ਼ਾਬਦਿਕ ਨਹੀਂ; ਬੋਲੀ ਦੇ ਅੰਕੜਿਆਂ ਦੀ ਵਰਤੋਂ ਕਰਦੇ ਹੋਏ

🇵🇰Urdu

علامتی

(الفاظ یا متن کے معنی میں استعمال کیا جاتا ہے) لفظی نہیں؛ تقریر کے اعداد و شمار کا استعمال کرتے ہوئے

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

比喻的

（使用单词或文本的含义）不是字面意思；使用修辞手法

🇯🇵Japanese

比喩的な

(単語またはテキストの意味を使用して) 文字通りではありません。比喩表現を使う

🇰🇷Korean

비유적인

(단어나 텍스트의 의미로 사용됨) 문자 그대로가 아님; 비유적 표현을 사용하여

🇻🇳Vietnamese

tượng hình

(dùng theo nghĩa của từ hoặc văn bản) không theo nghĩa đen; sử dụng hình tượng của lời nói

🇹🇭Thai

เป็นรูปเป็นร่าง

(ใช้ความหมายของคำหรือข้อความ) ไม่ใช่ตัวอักษร การใช้รูปคำพูด

🇮🇩Indonesian

kiasan

(digunakan untuk arti kata atau teks) tidak harafiah; menggunakan kiasan

🇵🇭Filipino

matalinhaga

(ginamit sa mga kahulugan ng mga salita o teksto) hindi literal; gamit ang figures of speech

🇲🇾Malay

kiasan

(digunakan daripada makna perkataan atau teks) tidak literal; menggunakan kiasan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

رمزي

(تستخدم لمعاني الكلمات أو النص) وليست حرفية؛ باستخدام أشكال الكلام

🇮🇷Persian

فیگوراتیو

(از معانی کلمات یا متن استفاده می شود) نه تحت اللفظی; با استفاده از اشکال گفتاری

🇹🇷Turkish

mecazi

(kelimelerin veya metnin anlamlarının kullanılması) gerçek anlamda değil; konuşma figürlerini kullanma

🇮🇱Hebrew

צִיוּרִי

(בשימוש במשמעויות של מילים או טקסט) לא מילולי; באמצעות דמויות דיבור

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'figurative'?

The primary meaning of 'figurative' is '(used of the meanings of words or text) not literal; using figures of speech'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'figurative' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'figurative' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'figurative' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'figurative' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'figurative' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'figurative' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'figurative' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'figurative' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'figurative' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'figurative' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted