figuratively

adverb

fig·​u·​ra·​tive·​ly ˈfi-g(y)ə-rə-tiv-lē 

: in a figurative way: such as

a

: with a meaning that is metaphorical rather than literal

Speaking of panic, I recently ran into (figuratively, not literally) a friend who was ranting about giant "bees" digging holes in his lawn.

—Ron Kujawski

Poor small-town America. During the last gasps of this fevered election, pollsters, zealous campaign foot soldiers and reporters are kicking down its doors, figuratively speaking …

—Doug Colligan

b

: in a way intended to represent the form or figure of something or someone having objective reality : in a way that is not purely abstract

Franz Kline, who had always painted figuratively, made his breakthrough in 1949 when he looked at one of his sketches in a Bell-Opticon magnifier, and saw the rough, thrusting horizontals and verticals that became the basis of his new abstract style.

—Calvin Tomkins

Examples of figuratively in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Stephen McGee, the book’s primary photographer, moved to Detroit 20 years ago and fell in love with Michigan Central to the point of taking upwards of three million photos capturing it literally and figuratively in darkness and light. —Patrick Sauer, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Dec. 2024

The cinematic language Expressionist filmmakers invented was esoteric, literally and figuratively shadowy, cerebral, and heavily symbolic. —Elle Carroll, Vulture, 24 Dec. 2024

Sure, the Chiefs have won multiple games on their last possession, and the ball has bounced their way plenty of times – literally and figuratively. —Ryan Morik, Fox News, 21 Dec. 2024

And Swift’s artistic gamble paid off handsomely, with fresh songwriting ground explored, more records broken, and a new era added, literally and figuratively, to the most sprawling show of her career. —Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 19 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above