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Glite Dictionary
🧮 To calculate 🧑‍💼 An important person 🔢 A number 👤 A body shape 🎭 To play a part 🗣️ A language device 👁️ Main object
figure

figure

27 8.2
A use of words that means more than the usual meaning
  • noun
  • /ˈfɪɡjər/
  • Literature
: figura retórica
  • No, I don't have any dogs, Charlie, that's a... that's just a figure of speech, eh?
  • figure of speech
  • rhetorical figures
  • figures and tropes

This is supposed to be pure resonance because not a single figure of speech is used in this.

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Examples

Synonyms

image
vsfigure
  • Literature
429 3.3

A picture you form in your mind from words or ideas

focuses on nonliteral language as a rhetorical device, not only images
metaphor
vsfigure
  • Literature
253 4.2

Describing one thing as if it were another to show they are alike

is a more general nonliteral device beyond just suggesting similarity
figure of speech
vsfigure
24 3.7

Words used to mean something different to create a strong picture

is the broader formal term for such nonliteral language
trope
vsfigure
  • Literature
2 7.4

A word or phrase that people use to describe something in a way that is not literal

is the general rhetorical term for that kind of nonliteral use

Antonyms

literal
118 3.5

Exactly true without exaggeration or metaphor

straightforwardness
1 5.0

Being direct and honest without hiding what you think

Idioms

to cut a figure
  • Informal
1 7.6

To stand out and make people notice you

Compounds

public figure
50 3.5

A person who is well known to many people, for example a celebrity or politician

father figure
47 3.9

A man who gives care and guidance like a father to someone who is not his child

figure skating
29 3.1

A sport where people skate on ice and do jumps, spins, and graceful moves

authority figure
28 4.3

A person who has power because of their job or position

figure of speech
24 3.7

Words used to mean something different to create a strong picture

key figure
14 3.8

An important person who plays the main role in a group or event

stick figure
11 2.6

A very simple drawing of a person using a circle for the head and lines for body, arms and legs

controversial figure
8 4.6

A person who causes strong arguments among many people

figure eight
8 2.8

A flat shape with two loops joined like the number eight

mother figure
4 3.2

A woman who cares for and guides someone like a parent

wax figure
3 3.7

A life-size statue made of wax that looks like a real person

figure 8
3 3.6

A shape made of two loops that cross in the middle like the number eight

hourglass figure
2 3.9

A body shape with a narrow waist and wider hips and bust

father-figure
2 4.4

A man who gives care and guidance like a parent

figure eight
1 4.9

A skating move that traces two joined loops on the ice

three-figure
1 3.2

A number with three digits between 100 and 999

mythological figure
  • Literature
1 5.8

A character from traditional stories who has magical powers

symbolic figure
1 6.4

A person or object that stands for an idea with deeper meaning

figure skate
1 3.2

A boot with a metal blade and toe picks for jumps and spins on ice

figure of merit
  • Specialized
1 7.7

A number that shows how well a device or material works compared to others

figure of eight
1 4.8

A shape like the number eight made by one line crossing itself

zaftig figure
1 9.1

A woman with a full, curvy body seen as attractive

significant figure
  • Specialized
1 4.9

A digit that shows how exact a number is and begins with the first digit that is not zero

three-dimensional figure
  • Specialized
1 3.6

A solid shape with height, width and depth like a cube

plane figure
  • Specialized
1 3.1

A flat shape like a circle or square

tragic figure
  • Literature
1 7.2

A person in a story whose mistake causes their downfall

solid figure
1 3.9

A shape with length, width, and height like a cube or sphere

lay figure
  • Archaic
1 9.8

A model of the human body with movable joints that artists use to set and study poses

terminal figure
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A carved statue, often a head or animal, placed on a square pillar to mark a boundary

two-dimensional figure
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A flat shape like a square or circle with length and width but no depth

figure eight
  • Specialized
5.0

A knot tied near the rope end that stops it slipping through a hole and looks like the number eight

figure loom
  • Specialized
9.9

A machine that weaves cloth with patterns or pictures

figure of eight
  • Specialized
5.1

A knot shaped like the number eight used to stop a rope slipping

glamazonian figure
  • Informal
9.6

A tall, very attractive and stylish woman's body shape

percumbent figure
  • Archaic
9.9

A person or statue shown lying down in art

How Figurative

allegory
  • Literature
13 7.8
figure
  • Literature
27 8.2
metaphor
  • Literature
253 4.2
idiom
13 4.2

Surface Forms

figure singular
figures plural

Etymology

Figure comes from Latin figura 'shape', and people used it for special 'shapes' of words and speech. So a figure of speech is a way of shaping language to make it more vivid.