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figurine

figurine

37 5.3
A small model of a person, animal, or mythical character made of clay, metal, plastic
  • noun
  • /ˌfɪɡjəˈrin/
translation icon : figurita
  • At the craft fair, I bought a delicate figurine made of hand-blown glass.
  • clay figurine
  • terracotta figurine
  • pottery figurine

Slap bracelet, new wrestling figurine, have it in my pocket.

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Examples

  • They're not toys, they're figurines.

  • Amy, do you see this beautiful, little, glass dolphin figurine?

  • This figurine is so last year

  • Prima brought out a little figurine that was made to look like herself.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Picking up the small figurine Consuelo liked so much, Anna carried it to the family room.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Then Filene presented them with their gift, a ceramic figurine of an elderly Oriental couple.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The heads of these figurines are generally flat, rectangular, or oblong in shape.

    Academic text (2000)
  • P126 walked through my mother's house, picking up doodads, trying to remember each figurine and framed photograph.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The collector proudly displayed his new figurine of a wise old owl on the shelf.

  • She carefully painted the figurine to resemble her favorite childhood character.

Synonyms

statuette
vsfigurine
9 5.4

A small statue of a person, animal, or thing

is a small manufactured model often made of ceramic, metal, or plastic

How Big

statue
381 1.0
statuette
9 5.4
figurine
37 5.3
miniature
23 4.1

Surface Forms

figurine singular
figurines plural

Morphology

figurine = figure (semi-transparent) = figure + ine

Formed from 'figure' + the diminutive suffix '-ine' so the idea 'small figure' is present, but '-ine' as a diminutive is borrowed and not highly productive in modern English, which may confuse some learners.

Etymology

Figurine comes from the Italian figurina, which comes from figura meaning 'figure' or 'shape', and the ending made it 'little', so it literally means a 'small figure'. That's why a figurine is a small model or statue of a person, animal, or character.