as in abstract
using elements of form (as color, line, or texture) with little or no attempt at creating a realistic picture
the gallery owner is resigned to the fact that nonfigurative works generally do not appeal to tourists
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Recent Examples of nonfigurative
Lee Ungno has great facility with ink, for example, but executing the densely interwoven vines of a wisteria, frequently a symbol of longevity, to resemble a thoroughly nonfigurative Jackson Pollock drip-painting seems dismissive in a perhaps unintentionally jokey way.
—
Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2022
Back then, Pop Art—of which Oldenburg’s work was a kind of rough version—was puzzling, if not a bit scandalous to an art world that had, only recently, barely gotten used to the nonfigurative paint pyrotechnics of Abstract Expressionism.
—Peter Plagens, WSJ, 22 July 2022
Largely inspired by Taeuber’s tours de force of design, experiments in nonfigurative art took hold in the Dada circle.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 29 Nov. 2021
Two nonfigurative pieces manage to appear simultaneously fractured and exalted.
—Washington Post, 11 Aug. 2021
Although the caves contain a mix of figurative and nonfigurative images, the researchers focused their efforts on the latter variety.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2018
Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2022
Back then, Pop Art—of which Oldenburg’s work was a kind of rough version—was puzzling, if not a bit scandalous to an art world that had, only recently, barely gotten used to the nonfigurative paint pyrotechnics of Abstract Expressionism.
—Peter Plagens, WSJ, 22 July 2022
Largely inspired by Taeuber’s tours de force of design, experiments in nonfigurative art took hold in the Dada circle.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 29 Nov. 2021
Two nonfigurative pieces manage to appear simultaneously fractured and exalted.
—Washington Post, 11 Aug. 2021
Although the caves contain a mix of figurative and nonfigurative images, the researchers focused their efforts on the latter variety.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nonfigurative
abstract
Adjective
-
For Michael Baer, a 59-year-old from Scottsdale, Arizona, the idea of being politically caught in the middle did not feel abstract.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Mar. 2026
-
One, affordability is not just an abstract issue but a life-or-death situation for New Yorkers around the state, who should not be expected to pick between heating or cooling their homes in extreme weather and the ability to put food on the table.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nonfigurative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonfigurative. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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