Figurative synonyms
Category:
Part of speech:
The definition of hyperbole is a description that is exaggerated for emphasis.
The definition of a simile is a figure of speech where two unlike things are compared using the word "like" or "as" followed by a figurative example.
metaphorical
The definition of metaphorical is a description of something using an implied comparison, not a literal comparison.
Of, relating to, or containing allegory
not literal
The definition of symbolic is serving as a representation or is something that has a greater meaning because of what it represents.
illustrative (related)
Demonstrative, exemplative, showing an example or demonstrating.
Serving as, or relating to a symbol, emblem or illustration of a type
See emblematic.
Very ornate; flowery:
metaphoric
Like a metaphor.
Of, or pertaining to, or in the shape of a parabola or paraboloid
Of or characteristic of government by representation.
synecdochical
Using an inclusive term for something included, or vice versa; using something spoken of as the whole (hand for laborer) or vice-versa (the court for the judge).
Of, occurring in, or characteristic of the tropics.
tropological
Relating to or involving the interpretation of literature focusing on the ethical lesson or moral of the story.
Having or showing the characteristics, qualities, etc. of a kind, class, or group so fully as to be a representative example
Repetition of an initial sound, usually of a consonant or cluster, in two or more words of a phrase, line of poetry, etc. (Ex.: “What a tale of terror now their turbulency tells!”)
anacoluthon
(Rhetoric) Intentional use of such a structure.
anadiplosis
Repetition of the last word or words of one clause or line of verse, at the beginning of the next (Ex.: “He gave his life; his life was all he could give.”)
anastrophe
Reversal of the usual order of the parts of a sentence; inversion (Ex.: “Came the dawn”)
antiphrasis
The use of words or phrases in a sense opposite to the usual one, as for ironic effect
(Rhetoric) A device by which two contrasting ideas are juxtaposed in parallel form.
antonomasia
The use of a proper name in place of a common noun which it represents, as in calling a philanderer a Don Juan
(Orthography) The text character ’, that serves as a punctuation mark in various languages and as a diacritical mark in certain rare contexts.
assonance
Resemblance of sound, especially of the vowel sounds in words, as in:
asyndeton
The omission of conjunctions from constructions in which they would normally be used, as in
The definition of conceit is a strong, exaggerated opinion of one's self.
ellipsis
The omission of a word or phrase necessary for a complete syntactical construction but not necessary for understanding.
hendiadys
A figure of speech in which two words connected by a conjunction are used to express a single notion that would normally be expressed by an adjective and a substantive, such as grace and favor instead of gracious favor.
hypallage
(Rhetoric, grammar) A construction in which a modifier with meaning associated with one word appears grammatically applied to another, often used as literary device.
The feigning of ignorance as a tactic in argument
litotes
A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite, as in This is no small problem.
malapropism
The definition of a malapropism is using the wrong word for something, especially one that sounds similar.
The definition of meiosis is the process of cellular division.
The definition of a metaphor is a word or phrase used to compare two unlike objects, ideas, thoughts or feelings to provide a clearer description.
metonymy
A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated, as in the use of Washington for the United States government or of the sword for military power.
(Uncountable, rhetoric) The use of language whose sound imitates that which it names.
oxymoron
A figure of speech in which two words with opposing meanings are used together intentionally for effect.
In literature, the attribution of human feelings and characteristics to inanimate things (Ex.: the angry sea, a stubborn door)
A figure of speech, prosopopoeia, in which an inanimate object or an abstraction is given human qualities.
The use of more words than are necessary for the expression of an idea; redundancy (Ex.: “plenty enough”)
polysyndeton
(Rhetoric) The use or repetition of conjunctions in close succession
rhetorical-question
A question to which no answer is expected, often used for rhetorical effect.
synecdoche
A figure of speech in which the name of a part is used to stand for the whole (as hand for sailor ), the whole for a part (as the law for police officer ), the specific for the general (as cutthroat for assassin ), the general for the specific (as thief for pickpocket ), or the material for the thing made from it (as steel for sword ).
(Logic) An empty or vacuous statement composed of simpler statements in a fashion that makes it logically true whether the simpler statements are factually true or false; for example, the statement Either it will rain tomorrow or it will not rain tomorrow.
tmesis
Separation of the parts of a compound word by one or more intervening words; for example, where I go ever instead of wherever I go.
(Music) A pair of complementary hexachords in twelve-tone technique.
tropology
A mode of biblical interpretation insisting on the morally edifying sense of tropes in the Scriptures.
zeugma
(Rhetoric) The act of using a word, particularly an adjective or verb, to apply to more than one noun when its sense is appropriate to only one.
metaphorize
To describe something using metaphors
real (antonym)
Free of pretense, falsehood, or affectation:
literal (antonym)
Based on the actual words in their ordinary meaning; not figurative or symbolic
straightforward (antonym)
The definition of straightforward is honest, direct and to the point.
Not literal.
figural
(Music) Figurate.
Find another word for figurative. In this page you can discover 62 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for figurative, like: euphemism, hyperbole, simile, metaphorical, allegorical, not literal, symbolic, illustrative, anagogical, descriptive and emblematic.