What does figurativeness mean?
Figurativeness is the quality of being figurative — that is, of using language in a way that departs from its literal meaning through metaphor, simile, personification, and other rhetorical figures. When critics speak of the figurativeness of a poem or a prose style, they are measuring how far the writing trades on image and suggestion rather than plain statement. The term belongs chiefly to the vocabulary of literary criticism, linguistics, and rhetoric, and it is rare in casual speech; most speakers would simply describe language as "metaphorical" or "rich in imagery." Because figurativeness names a degree rather than a simple presence or absence — writing can be more or less figurative — it is useful for precise discussion of style, register, and interpretation. Its opposite is literalness: the flat, direct mode of expression in which words mean exactly what they say.
nounThe quality or state of being figurative; the extent to which language departs from literal meaning through metaphor, simile, and other figures of speech.
- The quality of employing or consisting of figures of speech rather than literal expression.
- (In literary criticism) The degree to which a text, style, or utterance relies on metaphor and related devices.
"The figurativeness of her poetry gives ordinary images an almost mythic resonance."
"Critics admired the figurativeness of the novel's opening chapter, where grief is rendered as a slow flood."
"Students were asked to identify passages whose figurativeness set them apart from plain reportage."
Virtually never pluralized; as an abstract mass noun denoting a quality, it is used in the singular even when discussing multiple works or styles.
Without figurativeness, we'd lose nearly every metaphor we live by — from "falling in love" to "time flying" — because this is the quality that lets words mean more than they say.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of figurativeness
Figurativeness derives from "figurative," which entered English in the late Middle English period via Old French "figuratif" from Latin "figurativus," formed on "figura" meaning "shape, form, figure." Latin "figura" itself comes from "fingere," "to shape or mold," the same root behind "figure," "fiction," and "effigy." The suffix "-ness" was added in English to form an abstract noun naming the quality itself, following a productive English pattern.
Related word forms
How figurativeness is actually used
A formal, largely academic term found mainly in literary criticism, linguistics, and rhetoric; it is rare in everyday conversation, where speakers would more naturally say something is "metaphorical" or "full of imagery." It carries no strong connotation of approval or disapproval, though it often appears in evaluative discussion of style.
Easily confused with figurativeness
"Figuratively" is an adverb meaning "in a non-literal sense," while "figurativeness" is a noun naming the quality of being non-literal.