How to Use metaphorically in a Sentence
metaphorically
adverb-
And the very best books will take you by the hand (metaphorically) and teach you a new skill right in your own kitchen.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 14 Dec. 2023
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But instead of being metaphorically stuck in the sand, many of these people are stuck in a rut.
—Phil Blair, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2022
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Field is a maestro in his own right, at least metaphorically.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Nov. 2022
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And then—this best of all—to walk away, to take a life without taking a life, to kill only the spirit, to murder metaphorically.
—Christian Wiman, Harper’s Magazine , 14 Dec. 2022
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For all of his purpose, mission and the calling, Sanders has metaphorically parted the Red Sea.
—Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY, 30 Nov. 2022
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Who needs steak when there’s a confection as metaphorically meaty as the Baked Alaska for Two?
—Hannah Goldfield, The New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2022
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That coveted and kitschy statuette of Poe is — metaphorically at least — to kill for.
—Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2022
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Getting around the kitchen table — physically and metaphorically — is at the heart of how Glover ended up in Utah in the first place.
—Josh Newman, The Salt Lake Tribune, 10 Nov. 2022
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If all the parents are willing to hold the ladder -- metaphorically, in the sense of being present -- consent is assumed.
—Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin, oregonlive, 9 Feb. 2023
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Aesthetics and care for the image, how to show the works of art; keeping the idea of the journey alive, both metaphorically and in reality.
—Holly Jones, Variety, 2 Jan. 2023
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On the moon, there’s gold in them hills, not just metaphorically but literally.
—David W. Brown, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024
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Her mom’s in her ear all the time, metaphorically and literally.
—Devon Ivie, Vulture, 18 May 2024
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Their feats are not just for the sake of a gasp — shout-out here to the astonishing Keaton Hentoff-Killian — but are metaphorically connected to the story on stage.
—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 22 Mar. 2024
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The novel follows the lives of three friends over the course of their youth in Poland to their adulthood in different places, physically and metaphorically.
—Kaitlin Stevens, Peoplemag, 30 Dec. 2023
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After more than two years of staying put—both literally and metaphorically—we're ready to go on a trip; to go see a show; to go shopping for a new wardrobe—to just get out and go.
—Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, 10 June 2022
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Now Hannigan bares all (metaphorically, jeez!) about the movie.
—Mara Reinstein, Vulture, 6 June 2024
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Not very far, according to the Doomsday Clock, which has been metaphorically ticking since 1947.
—Ella Feldman, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Jan. 2023
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The name refers to the uppermost gallery seats in an Italian opera house, and the perfume smells of fruit salad, as in all kinds of fruits (crazy people, metaphorically) mixed together.
—Molly Young, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2024
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Here are highlights from a day that started chilly but heated up quickly, metaphorically at least.
—Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 12 Dec. 2022
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As metaphorically intriguing as that sounds – and indeed, is at the start – the first season ultimately feels a bit too scattered and chaotic to match the stature of its premise.
—Brian Lowry, CNN, 23 June 2023
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And if there’s any deviation from that, they’ll be punished — and not metaphorically.
—Jennifer Wright, refinery29.com, 2 Sep. 2021
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Finding ways to grow a community out of your fans requires a mix of new tech and trusted playbooks, so go find your fans and (metaphorically) blow up a golf course, too.
—Gavin Gillas, Rolling Stone, 7 June 2023
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While the title song is smashing (and cleverly used in advanced promotion of the show), most of the rest of the tunes are merely OK, with lyrics that are often metaphorically tiresome and too on-the-nose.
—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 11 Dec. 2022
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This guy can do anything, jump off high buildings and survive, metaphorically.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 10 Mar. 2023
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Jayson Tatum should’ve been metaphorically putting his feet up instead of literally doing so in the cramped locker room postgame.
—Christopher L. Gasper, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Dec. 2022
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August metaphorically shows that this ghost was an albatross around our necks.
—Salamishah Tillet, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2022
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It's been mocked and criticized – Drescher gets hit too, but Sherman lands a nice pro-union moment about breaking off a piece of Kit Kat bars… metaphorically speaking.
—Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 29 Oct. 2023
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But does any documentary need both that and a recurring candle — because Becker, metaphorically, liked to run his finger through the flame — at the same time?
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2023
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But alas, that metaphor is not technically or even metaphorically true.
—Washington Post, 18 Jan. 2022
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Any irons in your fire are heating up while the Moon enters your 8th House of Shared Resources, which deals with the bonds that bring people together, literally and metaphorically.
—Tarot Astrologers, Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2023
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'metaphorically.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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