What does figurative mean?
Figurative is an adjective describing language that departs from its literal meaning through metaphor, simile, personification, or other figures of speech. When we say we're 'over the moon' or that time 'flies', we are using figurative expressions: the words point beyond their plain dictionary senses to create vivid comparisons. The term derives from Latin figura, meaning shape or form, and entered English in the late Middle Ages via French. Beyond linguistics, figurative has a distinct role in art, where it denotes work that represents recognizable subjects — particularly the human body — as opposed to abstract art. Its opposite is literal, and this pairing matters: confusing figurative with literal statements can lead to genuine misunderstanding, which is why speakers sometimes clarify with 'speaking figuratively'. Rich in expressive power, figurative language is central to poetry, rhetoric, and everyday idiom alike.
(Of language) based on or making use of figures of speech; metaphorical rather than literal.
"The phrase 'a sea of troubles' is a figurative expression drawn from Shakespeare's Hamlet."
(Of art) representing forms drawn from the visible world, especially the human figure, rather than abstract shapes.
"The gallery's new wing is devoted entirely to figurative sculpture."
Every time you say you're 'drowning in work' or have a 'broken heart', you're using figurative language — and English would be impossibly dull without it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of figurative
Figurative comes from Latin figurativus, derived from figurare ('to form, shape'), itself from figura ('shape, form, figure'). The word entered English via Old French in the late medieval period, initially in theological and rhetorical contexts describing non-literal interpretation of scripture. It shares its root with related borrowings such as figure, figurine, configuration, and disfigure.
Related word forms
How figurative is actually used
Standard in both formal and informal contexts. The adverb 'figuratively' is often used contrastively with 'literally', especially when clarifying that an expression is not meant literally. In art criticism, 'figurative' has a specialized technical sense referring to representational rather than abstract work.
Easily confused with figurative
'Figuratively' describes non-literal, metaphorical use of words, while 'literally' means in the actual, exact sense — they are opposites often confused in everyday speech.