nonmetaphorical

adjective

Definition of nonmetaphoricalnext
as in nonfigurative

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for nonmetaphorical
  1. nonfigurative
  2. literal
Adjective
  • Abstraction or nonfigurative art was held, if not in some disdain, at least as something less pressing.
    — Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 6 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
Definition of nonfigurative
Adjective
  • And in some sense, that’s a literal picture of a four-dimensional space.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 1 Oct. 2026
  • WallPops Scalamandré Leaping Cheetah Peel and Stick Wallpaper Animal print is reigning in fashion again, and this wallpaper has taken a literal approach when translating the trend to interiors.
    — Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of literal
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.

Browse Nearby Words

nonmental
nonmetaphorical
nonmetrical
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Nonmetaphorical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonmetaphorical. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of heterodox

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All