metaphorical
Symbolic, not actual
Metaphorical describes language that uses one thing to represent or illuminate another—speaking of love as a journey, time as money, or argument as war.
The metaphorical sense of a word is its figurative meaning rather than its literal one: She didn't mean it literally; she was speaking metaphorically.
The distinction between metaphorical and literal is central to how language stretches beyond direct description.
Comparison via "as"
- analogyExplanatory likeness between things
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
- parableInstructive allegorical narrative
- fableMoral tale with animals
personification · hyperbole · metonymy · synecdoche · oxymoron · irony · euphemism · idiom
Representational sign or device
- totemSpiritual clan symbol
- iconPictorial screen symbol
- archetypeOriginal model for copies
- avatarDigital user representation
epitome · quintessence · signifier · representation · manifestation · allegory · proxy · stand-in
Vivid descriptive language
- evocationCalling forth to mind
- resonanceAmplified oscillation at natural frequency
- allusionIndirect reference to something
- juxtapositionAdjacent contrasting placement
ambiguity · paradox · connotation · subtext · nuance · suggestiveness · lyricism · symbolism
Condensed version of text
- theoreticalBased on hypothesis, untested
- philosophicalConcerned with fundamental truths
- underlyingExisting beneath the surface
- paradigmGoverning framework of thought
framework · inference · implication · ideological · thematic · interpretive · analytical · notional
simile
Comparison via "as"
- analogyExplanatory likeness between things
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
- parableInstructive allegorical narrative
fable · personification · hyperbole · metonymy · synecdoche · oxymoron · irony · euphemism · idiom · understatement
emblem
Representational sign or device
avatar · epitome · quintessence · signifier · representation · manifestation · allegory · proxy · stand-in · surrogate
imagery
Vivid descriptive language
- evocationCalling forth to mind
- resonanceAmplified oscillation at natural frequency
- allusionIndirect reference to something
juxtaposition · ambiguity · paradox · connotation · subtext · nuance · suggestiveness · lyricism · symbolism · impressionistic
abstract
Condensed version of text
- theoreticalBased on hypothesis, untested
- philosophicalConcerned with fundamental truths
- underlyingExisting beneath the surface
paradigm · framework · inference · implication · ideological · thematic · interpretive · analytical · notional · schematic
- poetry termspoetry, rhyme, verse, rhythm, meter
- literary adjectivespoetic, lyrical, prosaic, narrative, elegiac
- philosophical termsSocratic, Kantian, Cartesian, Aristotelian, dialectical
- qualitativequalitative, descriptive, interpretive, subjective, observational
metaphoricalliteral
Meaning exactly what's said
literally · nonfigurative · word-for-word · verbatim · denotative
- metaphorical languageWords used non-literally
- metaphorical speechLanguage using symbolic comparison
- metaphorical meaningNon-literal significance of expression