figuratively

adverbC2Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #9,279 of 15,258neutral

Figuratively means in an imaginative sense rather than a literal one. Figuratively speaking, meant figuratively, figuratively and literally.

It exists mostly to head off confusion, since figuratively speaking warns that what follows is a picture rather than a fact. Literally has drifted so far towards emphasis that figuratively now does the work alone.

Definitions of figuratively

1adverbfigurativelyIn an imaginative sense rather than a literal one.C2
“When I said my boss would kill me, I was speaking figuratively, of course.”

figuratively is a manner.

Where it comes from

Middle French
figuratif
English
figurative
English, today
figuratively

From figurative + -ly. figurative comes from Middle French figuratif.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

figuratively in the wild

In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term can include other musical elements such as tonal color.
Melody
The expression is also used figuratively to describe anything which is considered abusive, excessively hurtful, or plainly unfair.
Below the belt
In Spanish, the expression literally means clean wheat, figuratively someone who is honest and transparent.
Trigo Limpio
The builder converses figuratively with his soul, referred to as she from the Latin anima.
The Palace of Art

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the figuratif family

figuratively

figuratively — used about once every 4,394 pages · #9,279 · point at the bar for the others

← Vocabulary

figuratively

adverbC2Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #9,279 of 15,258neutral

Figuratively means in an imaginative sense rather than a literal one. Figuratively speaking, meant figuratively, figuratively and literally.

Definitions of figuratively

1adverbfigurativelyIn an imaginative sense rather than a literal one.C2
“When I said my boss would kill me, I was speaking figuratively, of course.”

figuratively is a manner.

Where it comes from

Middle French
figuratif
English
figurative
English, today
figuratively

From figurative + -ly. figurative comes from Middle French figuratif.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

figuratively in the wild

In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term can include other musical elements such as tonal color.
Melody
The expression is also used figuratively to describe anything which is considered abusive, excessively hurtful, or plainly unfair.
Below the belt
In Spanish, the expression literally means clean wheat, figuratively someone who is honest and transparent.
Trigo Limpio
The builder converses figuratively with his soul, referred to as she from the Latin anima.
The Palace of Art

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the figuratif family

figuratively

figuratively — used about once every 4,394 pages · #9,279 · point at the bar for the others