NONLITERAL Synonyms: 23 Similar and Opposite Words

nonliteral

adjective

Definition of nonliteral

as in veritable

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of nonliteral Jesus, who speaks in parables, not in dicta or dogmas, provides us with a primary instance of the power of the nonliteral tale. — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026 In addition, neurodivergent women, such as those with autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, may be excluded from whisper networks because information is often shared using indirect or nonliteral language. — Carrie Ann Johnson, Fortune, 4 Jan. 2023 The New York Times is concerned about its subscribers’ intolerance for opposing views, not about nonliteral terminology about opposing pages. — Nicholas Clairmont, Washington Examiner, 29 Apr. 2021

Recent Examples of Synonyms for nonliteral

Adjective

While there may not be a big gap between, say, Brock Purdy and Jaxson Dart, there is a veritable gulf between Dart and whichever five players the Browns throw out at the position this season.

— Sports Betting, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
These observations sound familiar because at several times in our history, observers have declared a veritable crisis among American men.

— Michael Kimmel, Time, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of veritable

Adjective

Once a name is tied to an address, the gap between symbolic hostility and a physical approach narrows, pulling family members, staff and neighbours into the exposure too.

— Control Risks, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026
The film’s observational intensity yields a form of symbolic realism that highlights both the action and its import—both the drama and the ideas and systems that undergird it.

— Richard Brody, New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of symbolic

Adjective

The half-dozen allegorical sculptures gathered in the new museum—The Lions, Liberty, Progress, Work, Peace, and Justice—were commissioned for Buenos Aires’s Palace of the Argentine National Congress in 1906.

— News Desk, Artforum, 13 Aug. 2026
Depicting the rise and spectacular fall of an Anglo- and Euro-centric civilization, the series was originally presented as an allegorical warning about imperial expansion to the then-young nation.

— Cat Dawson, ARTnews.com, 3 July 2026

Definition of allegorical

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nonliquid

nonliteral

nonliterary

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“Nonliteral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonliteral. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of nonliteral

adjective

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