Origin: Latin suffix -ive
Figurative has 3 different meanings across 1 category:
(used of the meanings of words or text) not literal; using figures of speech
"figurative language"
consisting of or forming human or animal figures
"a figural design"
"the figurative art of the humanistic tradition"
Of use as a metaphor, simile, or metonym, as opposed to literal; using figures; as when saying that someone who eats more than they should is a pig or like a pig.
"The teacher explained that calling the greedy student "a pig" was a figurative way of criticizing his behavior without accusing him of actually being an animal."