Meanings
comparative more metaphorical · superlative most metaphorical
- Pertaining to or characterized by a metaphor; figurative; symbolic.
metaphorical answer
3 more examples
metaphorical depiction
metaphorical description
metaphorical question
Synonyms: metaphoric
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivePertaining to or characterized by a metaphor; figurative; symbolic.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveexpressing one thing in terms normally denoting another
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Englishmetaphor
- Englishmetaphoric
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
- Englishmetaphorical
From metaphoric + -al.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek μεταφορικός
- μεταφορικός (metaphorikós)pertaining to a metaphor
Arabic اِسْتِعَارِيّ, مَجَازِيّ
- اِسْتِعَارِيّ (istiʕāriyy)pertaining to a metaphor
- مَجَازِيّ (majāziyy)pertaining to a metaphor
- رَمْزِيّ (ramziyy)pertaining to a metaphor
Bulgarian метафоричен
- метафоричен (metaforičen)pertaining to a metaphor
Catalan metafòric
- metafòricpertaining to a metaphor
Chinese Mandarin 比喻, 象徵 /象征
- 比喻 (bǐyù)pertaining to a metaphor
- 象徵 /象征 (xiàngzhēng)pertaining to a metaphor
Czech obrazný, metaforický
- obraznýpertaining to a metaphor
- metaforickýpertaining to a metaphor
Danish metaforisk
- metaforiskpertaining to a metaphor
Dutch metaforisch, overdrachtelijk
- metaforischpertaining to a metaphor
- overdrachtelijkpertaining to a metaphor
Esperanto metafora
- metaforapertaining to a metaphor
Finnish vertauskuvallinen, metaforinen
- vertauskuvallinenpertaining to a metaphor
- metaforinenpertaining to a metaphor
French métaphorique, figuré
- métaphoriquepertaining to a metaphor
- figurépertaining to a metaphor
German metaphorisch
- metaphorischpertaining to a metaphor
Greek μεταφορικός
- μεταφορικός (metaforikós)pertaining to a metaphor
Hindi रूपक
- रूपक (rūpak)pertaining to a metaphor
Hungarian metaforikus
- metaforikuspertaining to a metaphor
Italian metaforico
- metaforicopertaining to a metaphor
Japanese 比喩的な
- 比喩的な (hiyuteki-na)pertaining to a metaphor
Latin metaphoricus
- metaphoricuspertaining to a metaphor
Latvian metaforisks
- metaforiskspertaining to a metaphor
Lithuanian metaforiškas
- metaforiškaspertaining to a metaphor
Norwegian Bokmål metaforisk
- metaforiskpertaining to a metaphor
Polish metaforyczny
- metaforycznypertaining to a metaphor
Portuguese metafórico
- metafóricopertaining to a metaphor
Russian метафори́ческий, перено́сный
- метафори́ческий (metaforíčeskij)pertaining to a metaphor
- перено́сный (perenósnyj)pertaining to a metaphor
- о́бразный (óbraznyj)pertaining to a metaphor
- фигура́льный (figurálʹnyj)pertaining to a metaphor
Spanish metafórico
- metafóricopertaining to a metaphor
Swedish metaforisk, bildlig
- metaforiskpertaining to a metaphor
- bildligpertaining to a metaphor
Ukrainian метафори́чний
- метафори́чний (metaforýčnyj)pertaining to a metaphor
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
metaphorical. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metaphorical
“metaphorical.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metaphorical. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “metaphorical,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metaphorical.
Source: metaphorical on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.