metaphorically

adverb

met·​a·​phor·​i·​cal·​ly ˌme-tə-ˈfȯr-i-k(ə-)lē 

-ˈfär-

: in a metaphorical or figurative sense rather than a literal sense : by using a metaphor

At the center of every encryption system is a secret number or mathematical operation, metaphorically referred to as a key.

—Peter Wayner

At a typical event, he comes crashing onstage, delivers a macho statement of intent, metaphorically flexes his muscles, then roars away.

—Terry McCarthy

They settled in Somerville, Mass., next door to Cambridge but metaphorically across the tracks.

—Laura Shapiro

Examples of metaphorically in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

One that might have a few business leaders kicking stock pots—metaphorically, of course. —Eric Miquelon, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024

Ki-young would become one of his country’s most influential auteurs, directing weird, bizarre melodramas metaphorically examining social sentiments through the 1970s and 1980s, when the country’s cinema was hobbled considerably by governmental censorship. —Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 28 Oct. 2024

That turns out to be just as unsettling as an eerie lake or a cabin in the woods, and more metaphorically potent to boot. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2024

First literally, then metaphorically, then literally again. —Will Self, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined above