figuratively
Often confused with literally
- 1In a figurative way, using a word or image in a sense other than its literal one.
In the poem, the river is used figuratively to stand for the passing of time.
She meant it figuratively when she said her boss would kill her.
Similarnonliterally
Oppositeliterally
Note
Its natural opposite is literally, yet literally is often used loosely for this very meaning, as in "I literally died laughing," which is figurative. That loose use is why figuratively earns its keep: it marks a word as an image without any risk of being misread. Bible dictionaries reach for it constantly, as when a shepherd stands for a ruler.
- 2Used to signal that the statement that follows is a figure of speech and is not meant literally.
Figuratively, the company was bleeding money by the end of the quarter.
After the layoffs we were, figuratively speaking, all in the same boat.
Similarmetaphorically
Oppositeliterally
Note
A sentence adverb, standing outside the clause and commenting on it as a whole. It usually comes first and is set off by a comma, "Figuratively, the cat was out of the bag," or slips in mid-sentence as figuratively speaking, the fuller form that leaves no doubt the speaker is talking about the words rather than the facts.
Practice
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Origin
Formed from figurative + -ly.