[fig-yer-uh-tiv] 
| 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. |
| nonfigurative | |
adjective | |
| not representing or imitating external reality or the objects of nature; "a large abstract painting" [syn: abstract] |
yər