adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˌmɛtəˈfɒɹɪkəl/
Canada, General-American:/ˌmɛtəˈfoɹɪkəl/
Canada, General-American:[ˌmɛɾ.əˈfoɹ.ɪ.kɫ̩]
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australian:/ˌmetəˈfɔɹɪkəl/
Australian:[ˌmeɾ.əˈfɔɹ.ɪ.kɫ̩]
New-Zealand:/ˌmetəˈfɒɹəkəl/
New-Zealand:[ˌmeɾ.əˈfɔ̟ɹ.ə.kɫ̩]
CMU ARPABET:M EH2 T AH0 F AO1 R IH0 K AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Pertaining to or characterized by a metaphor; figurative; symbolic.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
metaphorical answer
metaphorical depiction
metaphorical description
metaphorical question
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adjective satellite
Meaning 2
expressing one thing in terms normally denoting another
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a metaphorical expression
metaphoric language
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: metaphoric
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
Etymology tree English metaphor Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ik English -ic English metaphoric English -al English metaphorical From metaphoric + -al.
Across languages
Translations
44 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
اِسْتِعَارِيّ
(istiʕāriyy)
— pertaining to a metaphor
Arabic:
مَجَازِيّ
(majāziyy)
— pertaining to a metaphor
Arabic:
رَمْزِيّ
(ramziyy)
— pertaining to a metaphor
Arabic:
مجازي
(majāzi)
— pertaining to a metaphor
Armenian:
փոխաբերական
(pʻoxaberakan)
— pertaining to a metaphor
Azerbaijani:
məcazi
— pertaining to a metaphor
Bulgarian:
метафоричен
(metaforičen)
— pertaining to a metaphor
Catalan:
metafòric
— pertaining to a metaphor
Chinese Mandarin:
比喻
(bǐyù)
— pertaining to a metaphor
Chinese Mandarin:
象徵 /象征
(xiàngzhēng)
— pertaining to a metaphor
Czech:
obrazný
— pertaining to a metaphor
Czech:
metaforický
— pertaining to a metaphor
Danish:
metaforisk
— pertaining to a metaphor
Dutch:
metaforisch
— pertaining to a metaphor
Dutch:
overdrachtelijk
— pertaining to a metaphor
Esperanto:
metafora
— pertaining to a metaphor
Finnish:
vertauskuvallinen
— pertaining to a metaphor
Finnish:
metaforinen
— pertaining to a metaphor
French:
métaphorique
— pertaining to a metaphor
French:
figuré
— pertaining to a metaphor
Galician:
metafórico
— pertaining to a metaphor
German:
metaphorisch
— pertaining to a metaphor
Greek:
μεταφορικός
(metaforikós)
— pertaining to a metaphor
Ancient Greek:
μεταφορικός
(metaphorikós)
— pertaining to a metaphor
Hindi:
रूपक
(rūpak)
— pertaining to a metaphor
Hungarian:
metaforikus
— pertaining to a metaphor
Italian:
metaforico
— pertaining to a metaphor
Japanese:
比喩的な
(hiyuteki-na)
— pertaining to a metaphor
Latin:
metaphoricus
— pertaining to a metaphor
Latvian:
metaforisks
— pertaining to a metaphor
Lithuanian:
metaforiškas
— pertaining to a metaphor
Norwegian Bokmål:
metaforisk
— pertaining to a metaphor
Norwegian Nynorsk:
metaforisk
— pertaining to a metaphor
Occitan:
metaforic
— pertaining to a metaphor
Polish:
metaforyczny
— pertaining to a metaphor
Portuguese:
metafórico
— pertaining to a metaphor
Russian:
метафори́ческий
(metaforíčeskij)
— pertaining to a metaphor
Russian:
перено́сный
(perenósnyj)
— pertaining to a metaphor
Russian:
о́бразный
(óbraznyj)
— pertaining to a metaphor
Russian:
фигура́льный
(figurálʹnyj)
— pertaining to a metaphor
Spanish:
metafórico
— pertaining to a metaphor
Swedish:
metaforisk
— pertaining to a metaphor
Swedish:
bildlig
— pertaining to a metaphor
Ukrainian:
метафори́чний
(metaforýčnyj)
— pertaining to a metaphor
