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

So to kick off 2025, Christine Wiseman, an award-winning bartender, shared several tequila and margarita recipes with me that both literally and figuratively spice up this classic cocktail. —Erik Ofgang, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2025

Food becomes a conduit for Black Americans to literally and figuratively digest their harsh history while consuming their hopes and desires for the new year. —Nyya Toussaint / Made By History, TIME, 31 Dec. 2024

The People's Princess is figuratively haunted by ghosts of Christmas past and present in the form of the claustrophobic confines of her royal life, and literally in the form of the ghost of Anne Boleyn. —Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2024

This is where the romance of Hublot began to shine—literally and figuratively. —Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 11 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above