as in figurative
expressing one thing in terms normally used for another
"a candidate running for office" is just a figural expression
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Recent Examples of figural
However, giving in to January’s grayness — both literal and figural — is not the only option.
—
Morayo Ogunbayo, AJC.com, 1 Jan. 2026
The figural birds are crafted in platinum and 18-karat gold with gemstones — appearing to perch upon the wearer.
—Thomas Waller, Footwear News, 2 Sep. 2025
As we are never returned to any figural baseline, our eyes are increasingly ungrounded.
—Jan Tumlir, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2025
Austria, Germany, and Japan became famous for exporting figural bulbs.
—IEEE Spectrum, 3 Dec. 2021
See All Example Sentences for figural
Morayo Ogunbayo, AJC.com, 1 Jan. 2026
The figural birds are crafted in platinum and 18-karat gold with gemstones — appearing to perch upon the wearer.
—Thomas Waller, Footwear News, 2 Sep. 2025
As we are never returned to any figural baseline, our eyes are increasingly ungrounded.
—Jan Tumlir, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2025
Austria, Germany, and Japan became famous for exporting figural bulbs.
—IEEE Spectrum, 3 Dec. 2021
See All Example Sentences for figural
Recent Examples of Synonyms for figural
Adjective
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As an abstract expressionist in the 1950s and 1960s, her concerns had been mostly formal, but the new paintings would be political, figurative, erotic, and female-centered.—
Regina Marler,
The New York Review of Books,
28 May 2026
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And then, in a figurative blink of an eye, the months-long march to a second NHL championship in five years was over.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
27 May 2026
Adjective
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Every time an underperforming manager missed a deadline or botched a client presentation, Marcus would swoop in, grab the metaphorical hose and put out the fire himself.—
Janine Schindler,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
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Nonetheless, Leeds will arrive at the London Stadium this weekend already on the metaphorical beach.—
Graham Ruthven,
New York Times,
24 May 2026
Adjective
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Taken together, those cultural threads help explain why food – and especially meat – carries an outsized symbolic role in Texas politics, where the official state dish, adopted in 1977, is chili, defined by its significant meat base.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
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For inheritors of the banana leaf-wrapping tradition, this practice has both the literal and symbolic capacity to contain that relationship.—
Sophia Rey,
JSTOR Daily,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Figural.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/figural. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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