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

figure

44 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

JUST A FIGURE OF SPEECH.

Romantic Comedy (1983)
No, no, it's a figure of speech.

Mafia Mamma (2023)
And here we're not just talking about figures of speech.
I know it's just a figure of speech, but he could actually do that.

Air Collision (2012)
I'm sure it's just a figure of speech.

A Walk in the Clouds (1995)
Tommy, it was a figure of speech.

The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
That's just a figure of speech, by the way.

Cars (2006)
It was just a figure of speech!

Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)
It was a figure of speech.

The Hustler (1961)
In literature, a metaphor is a common figure of speech that conveys deeper meanings.

Synonyms

image

vsfigure

Literature

445 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

263 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

20 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

5 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

120 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

7.6

To stand out and make people notice you

Compounds

public figure

51 3.5

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

father figure

40 3.9

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

figure skating

28 3.1

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

authority figure

26 4.3

A person who has power because of their job or position

figure of speech

20 3.7

Words used to mean something different to create a strong picture

key figure

12 3.8

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

stick figure

8 2.6

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

controversial figure

6 4.6

A person who causes strong arguments among many people

tragic figure

Literature

4 7.2

A person in a story whose mistake causes their downfall

father-figure

3 4.4

A man who gives care and guidance like a parent

mother figure

3 3.2

A woman who cares for and guides someone like a parent

hourglass figure

3 3.9

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

wax figure

3 3.7

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

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

figure 8

1 3.6

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

figure eight

1 2.8

A flat shape with two loops joined like the number eight

figure eight

1 4.9

A skating move that traces two joined loops on the ice

figure of merit

Specialized

1 7.7

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

mythological figure

Literature

1 5.8

A character from traditional stories who has magical powers

three-figure

1 3.2

A number with three digits between 100 and 999

figure skate

3.2

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

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

4.8

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

figure of eight

Specialized

5.1

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

lay figure

Archaic

9.8

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

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

plane figure

Specialized

3.1

A flat shape like a circle or square

symbolic figure

6.4

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

terminal figure

Specialized

9.9

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

three-dimensional figure

Specialized

3.6

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

solid figure

3.9

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

two-dimensional figure

Specialized

3.9

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

zaftig figure

9.1

A woman with a full, curvy body seen as attractive

How Figurative

allegory

Literature

12 7.8

figure

Literature

44 8.2

metaphor

Literature

263 4.2

idiom

7 4.2

literal interpretation

3 4.9

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.