nonliteral

Definition of nonliteralnext

Example Sentences

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 Thirsty, even, in its most nonliteral meaning. Julissa James, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2021 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
  • Barron vacillated between playing deep in situational dime packages, fitting run gaps as a veritable off-ball linebacker in big-nickel packages, covering tight ends man-to-man, and even started a game at safety.
    Luca Evans, Denver Post, 12 Apr. 2026
  • Remember those bills moving through the Georgia Legislature that would have protected consumers from rising energy costs from data center expansion or curbed the multimillion-dollar tax breaks that have turned Georgia into a veritable data center cabbage patch?
    AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • As was the case with the white-and-green dress for her Pakistan tour, Elizabeth, in her fashion choices, sought not only to avoid giving offense but to offer symbolic ingratiation, and among the most fascinating garments on display are those representing diplomatic dressing.
    Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2026
  • For many young Indian women, the change also carries symbolic weight.
    ABC News, ABC News, 16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Meis moves from the Baroque virtuosity of Rubens’s study of a drunken mythological figure, through the jagged modernist puzzle of Marc’s allegorical animals, to Mitchell’s painterly abstractions and their flickering landscape allusions.
    Jed Perl, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
  • It has also been viewed by many as an allegorical commentary on first century Christianity and Rome, and has been seen as an impending apocalyptic prophecy by generations ever since.
    City News Service, Oc Register, 28 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Nonliteral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonliteral. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.

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