Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Figurative |
FigurativeAdjective1. (used of the meanings of words or text) not literal; using figures of speech; "figurative language". 2. Consisting of or forming human or animal figures; "a figural design"; "the figurative art of the humanistic tradition"- Herbert Read. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "figurative" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1550. (references) |
Synonyms: FigurativeSynonyms: figural (adj), nonliteral (adj). (additional references) |
| Antonym: literal (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Metaphor | Adjective: metaphorical, figurative, catachrestical, typical, parabolic, allegorical, allusive, anagogical; ironical; colloquial; tropical. |
Ornament | An alliterative; figurative; artificial; (inelegant). |
Representation | Adjective: represent, representing; Verb:, representative; illustrative; represented; Verb: imitative, figurative; iconic. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Figurative |
| English words defined with "figurative": Beast royal, Brillancy ♦ collar ♦ Earnest money ♦ figural, Figurate, Figurate counterpoint, figuratively, figure, figure of speech, Figurist, floridly ♦ image ♦ Kyriology ♦ literally ♦ metalepsis ♦ popularity contest ♦ remove ♦ Sooterkin ♦ To lay an anchor to the windward, Tralation, Translative, trope ♦ Vestibule train, virtually. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "figurative": Article omitted ♦ Climb down, Cry Vinegar ♦ discount window ♦ Flee, Fly ♦ lyre ♦ Protozo'a ♦ safety, saw. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Figurative" is also a word in the following language with the English translation in parentheses. French (symbolically). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Scarlet Letter | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | So much for my figurative self |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Political Economy | BULGARIA | Bulgaria is a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and a signatory to the following agreements: the Paris Convention for the Protection of Intellectual Property; the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcast Organizations; the Geneva Phonograms Convention; the Madrid Agreement for the Repression of False or Deceptive Indications of Source of Goods; the Madrid Agreement on the International Classification and Registration of Trademarks; the Patent Cooperation Treaty; the Universal Copyright Convention; the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works; the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration; the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purpose of Patent Protection; the Nairobi Treaty on the Protection of the Olympic Symbol, the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants; the Vienna Agreement Establishing an International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks; the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks; the Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification; and the Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | SAW, n. A trite popular saying, or proverb. (Figurative and colloquial.) So called because it makes its way into a wooden head. Following are examples of old saws fitted with new teeth. A penny saved is a penny to squander. A man is known by the company that he organizes. A bad workman quarrels with the man who calls him that. A bird in the hand is worth what it will bring. Better late than before anybody has invited you. Example is better than following it. Half a loaf is better than a whole one if there is much else. Think twice before you speak to a friend in need. What is worth doing is worth the trouble of asking somebody to do it. Least said is soonest disavowed. He laughs best who laughs least. Speak of the Devil and he will hear about it. Of two evils choose to be the least. Strike while your employer has a big contract. Where there's a will there's a won't. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Figurative" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 99.30% of the time. "Figurative" is used about 143 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 99.3% | 142 | 26,554 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.7% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 143 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "figurative": figurative constant ♦ Figurative counterpoint ♦ Figurative descant ♦ figurative expression ♦ figurative language ♦ figurative meaning ♦ figurative writer ♦ in a figurative sense. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "figurative": figurative-expressionist. | |
Ending with "figurative": non-figurative. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "figurative"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | figurativ, simbolik (emblematic, hieroglyphic, symbolic, symbolical), me figura (pictorial), i figurshëm. (various references) | |
Arabic | مجازي (allegorical, metaphorical, tropical), رمزي فقط, رمزي (emblematic, nominal, symbolic, symbolical). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | символичен (allegoric, allegorical, emblematic, figured, symbolic, symbolical, token, typical), образен (pictorial, picturesque, tropical), метафоричен (metaphorical), изобразяващ символично, изобразителен (graphic, graphical, iconic, pictorial, representational, representative). (various references) | |
Chinese | "喻 (Analogies, Analogy). (various references) | |
Czech | obrazný (emblematic, symbolic, tropical), metaforický (metaphorical). (various references) | |
Danish | figurligt mærke (figurative mark, pictorial mark representation), figurativ tænken (figurative thinking), symbolsk konstant (figurative constant), overfoert betydning (figurative meaning), mærke i billedsprog (figurative mark, pictorial mark representation), litteral (figurative constant, literal), billedtænkning (figurative thinking), billedlig fremstilling af mærke (figurative mark, pictorial mark representation). (various references) | |
Dutch | figuurlijk, figuurlýk (figuratively), oneigenlijk, oneigenlýk. (various references) | |
Esperanto | figura. (various references) | |
Farsi | مجازی (Allegorical, Implicit, Virtual), کنایه ای (Allegorical), تمثیلی (Allegorical), تصویری (Pictorial), رمزی (Allegorical, Cryptic, Esoteric, Occult, Runic, Symbolic, Undercover). (various references) | |
Finnish | kuvaannollinen (metaphorical). (various references) | |
French | figuratif, figuré (figured). (various references) | |
Frisian | figuerlik. (various references) | |
German | bildlich (figurativ, metaphorical, pictorial, pictorially, unliteral). (various references) | |
Greek | μεταφορικόσ (metaphorical, tractional), παραστατικός (pictorial, representative), εικονικόσ. (various references) | |
Hebrew | מליצי (bombastic, florid, flowery, ornate, rhetorical), משלי (allegorical), מטפורי, "מויי, סמלי (emblematic, nominal, symbolic, symbolical, token, typical). (various references) | |
Hungarian | jelképes (allegoric, allegorical, emblematic, symbolic, symbolical, token), átvitt. (various references) | |
Italian | figurato (pictorial, unliteral), figurativo. (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | フィールド競技 (face, face sheet, face value, face-card, face-off, fade, fade ball, fade-in, fade-out, fatal, Federation Internationale de Nation Amateur cup, FI, fiance, fiction, field events, fielder's choice, fifty-fifty, figure, figure skating, Fiji, filament, filaria, filibuster, fill, fill-in, film, film library, film net, filter, filter-bank, filtering, fin, FINA cup, finale, finger, finger bowl, fingering, finish, Finland, fiscal policy, fish, fish meal, fishing, fit, fitness, fitness shoes, fitting, fitting room, fix, fixed, fixer, fjord, FO, phase, Philadelphia, philanthropy, philharmonic, philharmonie, Philippines, Philips, philosophy, physical, physical protection, questionnaire that asks for a demographic profile, vinyl drainpipe with fins), "喩的 . (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | フィギュラティフ , ひゆてき. (various references) | |
Korean | 비 (Allegoric, Allegorical, Parabolic, Parabolical). (various references) | |
Manx | tuarystallagh, caslyssagh (pictorial, picturesque). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | igurativefay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | figurativo. (various references) | |
Romanian | figurativ, figurat (allegoric, allegorical, emblematic, metaphorical, tropical), simbolic (emblematic, emblematical, symbolic, symbolical, symbolically), metaforic (metaphoric, metaphorical, tropical), emblematic (emblematic, emblematical). (various references) | |
Russian | переносный (man-carried, portable). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | figurativan (tropology), prenosan (transitive). (various references) | |
Spanish | figurado (figured). (various references) | |
Swedish | figurlig, figurativ, bildlig. (various references) | |
Thai | ซึ่งเป็นอุปมาอุปไมย. (various references) | |
Turkish | simgesel (emblematic, symbolic, symbolical), sembolik (emblematic, emblematical, nominal, representative, symbolic, symbolical), süslü (arrayed, bombastic, chichi, fancy, florid, flowery, frilly, high-flown, luxuriant, natty, ornate), mecazlı, mecazi (metaphoric, metaphorical), betimsel (descriptive). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | фігуральний (analogical), метафоричний (metaphoric, metaphorical, parabolic), зображальний, переносний (hand, handheld, portable). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | tượng trưng tạo hình, bằng tranh ảnh, bóng; bóng bảy biểu hiện. (various references) | |
Welsh | ffigurol, cyffelybiaethol. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "figurative": figuratively, figurativeness, figurativenesses. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "figurative": configurative, nonfigurative, prefigurative. (additional references) | |
Words containing "figurative": prefiguratively, prefigurativeness, prefigurativenesses. (additional references) | |
| |
"Figurative" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: figerative, figuative, figuratice, Figuratif, figuritive, migrative. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "figurative" (pronounced fi"gyerutiv) |
| 5 | -er u t i v | alliterative, degenerative, Federative, generative, inoperative, operative, recuperative, remunerative, uncooperative, vituperative. |
| 4 | -u t i v | accusative, acquisitive, additive, affirmative, alternative, anticompetitive, argumentative, causative, cognitive, commemorative, communicative, comparative, competitive, consecutive, conservative, consultative, contemplative, cumulative, curative, decorative, definitive, demonstrative, derivative, diminutive, dispositive, duplicative, evocative, executive, expletive, exploitative, fixative, formative, fugitive, hypersensitive, illustrative, imaginative, imperative, indicative, infinitive, informative, initiative, inquisitive, insensitive, interpretive, intuitive, laxative, lucrative, narrative, negative, neoconservative, noncompetitive, noncumulative, nonexecutive, normative, nutritive, palliative, participative, pejorative, positive, prerogative, preservative, preventative, primitive, prohibitive, provocative, punitive, putative, relative, rep, repetitive, representative, restorative, secretive, sedative, sensitive, speculative, superlative, talkative, tentative, ultraconservative, uncompetitive, unimaginative, uninformative, unrepresentative. |
| 3 | -t i v | accommodative, abortive, accumulative, active, adaptive, addictive, adjective, administrative, adoptive, affective, appointive, appreciative, assaultive, assertive, attentive, attractive, authoritative, automotive, captive, collaborative, collective, combative, conductive, congestive, connective, constructive, contraceptive, cooperative, corrective, corruptive, counterproductive, creative, deceptive, defective, deliberative, descriptive, destructive, detective, digestive, dilutive, directive, disincentive, disparages, disruptive, dissipative, distinctive, distributive, effective, elective, elucidative, eruptive, exhaustive, exploitive, facultative, festive, furtive, hyperactive, imitative, inactive, inattentive, incentive, ineffective, infective, injunctive, innovative, instinctive, instructive, interactive, introspective, invective, inventive, investigative, irrespective, iterative, legislative, locomotive, manipulative, meditative, motive, native, nonautomotive, nonnative, nonproductive, objective, obstructive, octave, overactive, perceptive, perspective, photoconductive, plaintive, predictive, preemptive, presumptive, preventive, proactive, probative, productive, prognosticative, projective, prospective, protective, qualitative, quantitative, radioactive, reactive, receptive, reconstructive, redemptive, redistributive, reflective, refractive, regulative, rehabilitative, reproductive, respective, restive, restrictive, retroactive, retrospective, seductive, selective, stimulative, subjective, substantive, suggestive, superconductive, supportive, unattractive, unproductive, unreceptive, vegetative, vindictive. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-e-f-g-i-i-r-t-u-v" | |
-2 letters: figurate, fruitage, fugitive. | |
-3 letters: fatigue, frigate, furtive, refugia, virgate. | |
-4 letters: aigret, augite, figure, gaiter, grivet, guitar, rivage, rugate, triage, trivia, vaguer, virtue. | |
-5 letters: afire, afrit, after, aiver, argue, auger, aurei, avert, fauve, feria, feuar, fiver, fruit, giver, graft, grate, grave, great, grief, grift, irate, refit, retag, retia, rivet, rugae, targe, tegua, terai, terga, tiger. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-e-f-g-i-i-r-t-u-v" | |
+2 letters: figuratively. | |
+3 letters: configurative, nonfigurative, prefigurative. | |
+4 letters: figurativeness. | |
+5 letters: prefiguratively. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Quotations: Fiction 7. Quotations: Non-fiction 8. Usage Frequency | 9. Expressions 10. Expressions: Internet 11. Translations: Modern 12. Derivations | 13. Rhymes 14. Anagrams 15. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
