— figuratively , adv. — figurativeness , n.
/fig"yeuhr euh tiv/ , adj.
1. of the nature of or involving a figure of speech, esp. a metaphor; metaphorical; not literal: a figurative expression.
2. metaphorically so called: His remark was a figurative boomerang.
3. abounding in or fond of figures of speech: Elizabethan poetry is highly figurative.
4. representing by means of a figure or likeness, as in drawing or sculpture.
5. representing by a figure or emblem; emblematic.
[ 1350-1400; ME figurativus (see FIGURATE, -IVE); r. ME figuratif ]
Syn. 3. ornate, ornamental, flowery, elaborate, florid, grandiloquent.