metaphorically

comparative more metaphorically · superlative most metaphorically

1. mannerIn a metaphorical manner; not literally; by means of metaphor.

   He conveyed his teachings metaphorically.

   3 more examples

   […] as, for example, in the present case of throwing herself, metaphorically speaking, at Mr Casaubon's feet, and kissing his unfashionable shoe-ties as if he were a Protestant Pope.

   1872, George Eliot, Middlemarch, I.5

   Mr. Burns is similarly perfectly cast as a heartless capitalist willing to do anything for a quick buck, even if it means endangering the lives of those around him and Marge elegantly rounds out the main cast as a good, pure-hearted and overly indulgent woman who sees the big, good heart (literally and metaphorically) of a monstrous man-brute.

   2012 April 29, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 15 Aug 2012

   Thinking more metaphorically, his American contemporary James Russell Lowell wrote: “It is not the insurrections of ignorance that are dangerous, but the revolts of intelligence.” Had he lived to the year 2021, he might have changed his mind.

   2021 January 13, Steven Poole, “'Insurrection': how an old word for an old thing was Trumped”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 20 Jan 2021

   Synonyms: nonliterally

2. Used to draw attention that what follows is a metaphor, not to be taken literally

   Metaphorically, he was crushed.