figural

fig·ur·al
F4I1G2U1R1A1L1
UK/ˈfɪɡ(j)ʊɹəl/US/ˈfɪɡjəɹəl/

adjective

Representing by means of a figure; emblematic.

Less commonScrabble 11

Meanings

adjectivefigural (comparative more figural, superlative most figural)

comparative more figural · superlative most figural

  1. Representing by means of a figure; emblematic.

    The counterparts, in the Christian era, to the figural anticipation of Christ in the Old Testament were the deliverer monarchs and leaders of later times […]

    2007, John Burrow, A History of Histories, Penguin, published 2009, page 185
  2. Figurative, not literal.
  3. obsoletemathematicsOf numbers, describing a geometrical figure.
  4. obsoletePertaining to a figure, shape.
  5. rarePertaining to (human) figures.

    Some of the Umayyads found themselves charmed by the cultures which they had conquered, so that archaeologists in Palestine and Syria have revealed an astonishing flourishing of Christian-style figural art under their rule.

    2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, pages 262–3
  6. entertainmentFigurate.

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveconsisting of or forming human or animal figures

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinfigūrālis
  2. Old Frenchfigural
  3. Englishfigural

From Old French figural, from late Latin figūrālis, from figūra (“figure”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

figural. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/figural

MLA

“figural.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/figural. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “figural,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/figural.

Source: figural on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.