| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | symbolic |
| Synonyms: | emblematic, figurative, illustrative, metaphorical, parabolic, symbolizing, typifying |
| Antonyms: | not representative, untypical |
| Main Entry: | figurative |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | not literal, but symbolic |
| Synonyms: | allegorical, denotative, descriptive, emblematic, emblematical, fanciful, florid, flowery, illustrative, metaphoric, metaphorical, ornate, pictorial, poetical, representative, signifying, typical |
| Antonyms: | literal, real, straightforward |
| Main Entry: | illustrative |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | explanatory |
| Synonyms: | allegorical, clarifying, comparative, corroborative, delineative, descriptive, diagrammatic, emblematic, exemplifying, explicatory, expository, figurative, graphic, iconographic, illuminative, illustrational, illustratory, imagistic, indicative, interpretive, metaphoric, pictorial, pictoric, representative, revealing, sample, specifying, symbolic, typical |
| Notes: | illustrative means clarifying by use of examples or serving to demonstrate, while illustrious means widely known and esteemed or having or conferring glory |
| Antonyms: | atypical, complicated, confusing, involved |
| Main Entry: | legendary |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | fictitious but well known |
| Synonyms: | allegorical, apocryphal, created, customary, doubtful, dubious, fabled, fabricated, fabulous, fanciful, figmental, handed-down, imaginary, imaginative, improbable, invented, mythical, mythological, related, romantic, storied, told, traditional, unhistoric, unhistorical, unreal, unverifiable |
| Antonyms: | factual, real, true |
| Main Entry: | metaphorical |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | figurative |
| Synonyms: | allegorical, denotative, descriptive, emblematic, illustrative, metaphoric, representative, symbolic, tropological |
| Main Entry: | mythical/mythological |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | make-believe, fairy-tale |
| Synonyms: | allegorical, chimerical, created, fabled, fabricated, fabulous, false, fanciful, fantasy, fictitious, fictive, folkloric, imaginary, invented, legendary, made-up, mythic, nonexistent, pretended, storied, supposititious, traditional, unreal, untrue, visionary, whimsical |
| Antonyms: | factual, historical, real, true |
| Main Entry: | symbolic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | representative |
| Synonyms: | allegorical, characteristic, denotative, emblematic, figurative, indicative, indicatory, significant, suggestive, symptomatic, token, typical |
| Main Entry: | mythical |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | make-believe |
| Synonyms: | allegorical, chimerical, created, fabled, fabricated, fabulous, fairy-tale, false, fanciful, fantasy, fictitious, fictive, folkloric, imaginary, invented, legendary, made-up, mythic, mythological, nonexistent, pretended, storied, supposititious, traditional, unreal, untrue, visionary, whimsical |
| Main Entry: | hermeneutic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | explanatory |
| Synonyms: | allegorical, analytical, annotative, critical, declarative, demonstrative, diagrammatic, discursive, elucidative, elucidatory, enlightening, exegetic, exegetical, explanative, explicative, expositional, expositive, expository, graphic, guiding, hermeneuti |