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figurative language

figurative language Figurative language is the use of a word or phrase in a meaning different from its usual one, especially when a vivid sensory image is used to express an abstract idea or relation.

Figurative language is the use of a word or phrase in a meaning different from its usual one, especially when a vivid sensory image is used to express an abstract idea or relation. In this historical source, its aesthetic effect comes from the feeling stirred by the image, the associations it brings, and the perceived analogy linking unlike things.

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Sources

Drafting source: Baldwin Dictionary of Philosophy and Psychology, 1901. 1901 New York Macmillan original; archive index checked 2026-10-18. “Figure (and Figurative)” (Figure).
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PsychTerms (psychterms.org), CC BY 4.0, version 1. “figurative language.” Development preview.

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