figurative
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The figurative enemy, Hofstadter wrote, “is a perfect model of malice, a kind of amoral superman — sinister, ubiquitous, powerful, cruel, sensual, luxury-loving.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
“Euphemistic speech is the highest form of thinking, human intelligence, an elegant, ‘veiled,’ neutralized, softened figurative expression of reality,” Xilola Inomovna Ismailova, an English teacher at Kokand State University, wrote last year.
From Salon ● May 8, 2026
The concept of a theater family is both literal and figurative in “American Classic,” and while there might be a revival—as in a second season—one hopes not.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
"The most important centre of Islamic civilisation in the 15th century endorsed figurative art," he added.
From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 2026
So crowded is our stock of figurative language that every profession—legal, corporate, fashion, artistic, literary, and so on—seems to have a collection all its own.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
Vocabulary lists containing figurative
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Vocabulary of the Common Core
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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