figuratively
In a metaphor
Figuratively describes language that departs from literal meaning to create effect through metaphor, exaggeration, or imagery.
When someone says I literally died laughing, they mean it figuratively—they laughed hard but remained alive.
The word often appears to clarify that a vivid expression isn't meant literally: She figuratively threw him under the bus by blaming him in the meeting.
Symbolically, not literally
- allegoricallyIn symbolic narrative form
- symbolicallyBy way of representation
- analogouslyIn a comparable manner
- representativelyAs a stand-in
poetically · parabolically · emblematically · tropically · idiomatically · allusively · imaginatively · fancifully
Condensed version of text
- conceptualOf or relating to ideas
- notionalConceptual, not concrete
- intangibleNot physically present
- symbolicRepresenting through signs
implied · indirect · representational · interpretive · allusive · suggestive · connotative · oblique
Understood without being stated
- insinuatedIndirectly suggested something
- intimatedSuggested indirectly
- hintedSuggested without stating
- inferredConcluded from indirect evidence
tacit · understood · unspoken · unstated · veiled · subtextual · suggested · connoted
metaphorically
Symbolically, not literally
- allegoricallyIn symbolic narrative form
- symbolicallyBy way of representation
- analogouslyIn a comparable manner
representatively · poetically · parabolically · emblematically · tropically · idiomatically · allusively · imaginatively · fancifully · expressively
abstract
Condensed version of text
- conceptualOf or relating to ideas
- notionalConceptual, not concrete
- intangibleNot physically present
symbolic · implied · indirect · representational · interpretive · allusive · suggestive · connotative · oblique · transferred
implicit
Understood without being stated
- insinuatedIndirectly suggested something
- intimatedSuggested indirectly
- hintedSuggested without stating
inferred · tacit · understood · unspoken · unstated · veiled · subtextual · suggested · connoted · indirect
- figurative artArt depicting recognizable subjects
- figurative languageNon-literal modes of expression
- figurative speechLanguage beyond literal meaning
- figurative expressionNonliteral use of language
- figurative meaningNon-literal intended significance