Figurative definition | Dictionary.com

fig⋅ur⋅a⋅tive

[fig-yer-uh-tiv]

–adjective

1.	of the nature of or involving a figure of speech, esp. a metaphor; metaphorical; not literal: a figurative expression.

2.	metaphorically so called: His remark was a figurative boomerang.

3.	abounding in or fond of figures of speech: Elizabethan poetry is highly figurative.

4.	representing by means of a figure or likeness, as in drawing or sculpture.

5.	representing by a figure or emblem; emblematic.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME < LL figūrātīvus (see figurate, -ive ); r. ME figuratif < MF

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Language Translation for : Figurative

Spanish:

figurado,

German:

bilderreich,

Japanese:

比喩的な

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fig·u·ra·tive (fĭg'yər-ə-tĭv) Pronunciation Key
adj.

1. Based on or making use of figures of speech; metaphorical: figurative language.
2. Containing many figures of speech; ornate.
Represented by a figure or resemblance; symbolic or emblematic.
Of or relating to artistic representation by means of animal or human figures.

fig'u·ra·tive·ly adv., fig'u·ra·tive·ness n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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figurative
adjective
1.	(used of the meanings of words or text) not literal; using figures of speech; "figurative language" [ant: literal]
2.	consisting of or forming human or animal figures; "a figural design"; "the figurative art of the humanistic tradition"- Herbert Read [syn: figural]

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Figurative

Fig"ur*a*tive\, a. [L. figurativus: cf. F. figuratif. See Figurative.]

1. 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. --Hooker.

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

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

4. 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. --J. A. Symonds.

Figurative counterpoint or descant. See under Figurate. -- Fig"ur*a*tive*ly, adv. -- Fig"ur*a*tive*ness, n.

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