tropical
1
8.2
- adjective
- /ˈtrɒpɪkəl/
- Literature
- The poet's use of metaphor and simile created a tropical atmosphere in his writing that captivated readers.
Examples
-
In her novel, she employed a tropical style, richly layering figurative language to convey deep emotions.
-
Tree-lined walks lead to improbable castles set on lakes fringed with frondy palms, and everything's rendered in tropical hues.
Academic text (2002) -
To turn to the tropical qualities of exchange is to turn to tropes that figure exchange.
Academic text (2018) -
I walk past a store selling silk-screened bags with tropical birds on them.
Fiction book (2002) -
Were they trying to emulate the openness of the tropical island we were visiting?
Academic text (2007) -
Baudelaire's contemporaries describe her variously as stupid, shrewish, and as a genuine tropical beauty.
Academic text (1997) -
Marni Coe, he saw, wore a friendship bracelet on her right wrist woven from brilliant tropical-colored threads.
Fiction book (1995) -
The artist's latest work is filled with tropical expressions, using vivid imagery to depict the complexities of love.
Synonyms
The use of images or symbols in writing to show deeper meaning
Antonyms
Compounds
4
2.7
A large area of tall trees near the equator that gets heavy rain and has many plants and animals
- Specialized
1
4.4
Study, treatment, and prevention of diseases in hot countries near the equator
- Specialized
1
9.1
A long illness in hot countries that makes the small intestine absorb food poorly, causing diarrhea and weight loss
- Specialized
1
6.7
Time Earth takes to go around the Sun from one spring equinox to the next
1
8.8
A tropical plant with pitcher-shaped leaves that trap and digest insects
How Figurative
- Literature
7
7.7
- Literature
1
8.2
5
6.6
11
6.4
156
4.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
A helpful way to remember the figurative sense of tropical is to think of the related word trope, which also comes from tropos ('turn'); a trope is a 'turn' in language, so tropical language is language that 'turns' away from the literal into a figurative meaning.