metaphorically

adverb

met·​a·​phor·​i·​cal·​ly ˌme-tə-ˈfȯr-i-k(ə-)lē 

-ˈfär-

: in a metaphorical or figurative sense rather than a literal sense : by using a metaphor

At the center of every encryption system is a secret number or mathematical operation, metaphorically referred to as a key.

—Peter Wayner

At a typical event, he comes crashing onstage, delivers a macho statement of intent, metaphorically flexes his muscles, then roars away.

—Terry McCarthy

They settled in Somerville, Mass., next door to Cambridge but metaphorically across the tracks.

—Laura Shapiro

Examples of metaphorically in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

So sculpturally, metaphorically, these works that represent very different ethnic backgrounds, will bend together, supporting each other, to survive a hurricane. —Vogue, 15 Apr. 2024

However, there is a silver lining, both metaphorically and quite visually: Eliasen says the current forecast for the area looks to buck the odds and offer possibly the country's clearest view of the solar display. —Eric Henderson, CBS News, 6 Apr. 2024

Until our outdated labor laws are finally updated to reflect the realities of the modern workforce and profit-hogging employers lose their ability to pass the buck (both figuratively and metaphorically) to the customers, tipping will continue to cheat workers out of a fair wage. —Kim Kelly, TIME, 3 Apr. 2024

Superposition and entangled particles, the observer effect and liminal space are discussed and enacted, metaphorically and otherwise; there is even a cat that is alive and dead. —Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2024

Their feats are not just for the sake of a gasp — shout-out here to the astonishing Keaton Hentoff-Killian — but are metaphorically connected to the story on stage. —Frank Rizzo, Variety, 22 Mar. 2024

The name refers to the uppermost gallery seats in an Italian opera house, and the perfume smells of fruit salad, as in all kinds of fruits (crazy people, metaphorically) mixed together. —Molly Young, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2024

Animal and mechanical behaviors merge metaphorically to represent the individual and society. —Armond White, National Review, 6 Mar. 2024

On the moon, there’s gold in them hills, not just metaphorically but literally. —David W. Brown, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined above