figurative

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Euphemistic speech is the highest form of thinking, human intelligence, an elegant, ‘veiled,’ neutralized, softened figurative expression of reality,” Xilola Inomovna Ismailova, an English teacher at Kokand State University, wrote last year.

From Salon • May 8, 2026

Harmonia Rosales’ Black figurative paintings combine Eurocentric artistic traditions with African diasporic cosmologies as a way to course-correct the historical erasure of Black images from classical narratives.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026

"The most important centre of Islamic civilisation in the 15th century endorsed figurative art," he added.

From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026

And this episode in the three-part Vice sports series “Out of Bounds” will likely have the effect of a figurative custard pie in the face of the heavily armed and coercive DraftKings-FanDuel-powered juggernaut.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2026

This, he explains, is the figurative and literal lower region.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel