💔 🗣️ FIGURATIVELY: Literally Important SAT Vocabulary

The word FIGURATIVELY is pretty straightforward, but let's make sure you've got a clear understanding of it!

ℹ️ Part of speech of figuratively

figuratively is an ADVERB.

🗣️ Pronunciation of figuratively

figuratively is pronounced /ˈfɪg.jə.rə.tɪv.li/ or FIG-yuh-ruh-tiv-lee.

📚️ Definition of figuratively

figuratively means in a manner that uses words and phrases with a more imaginative or metaphorical meaning instead of a literal one. Example: When Ricardo said "Vlad broke my heart," it's understood that his heart was broken figuratively, not literally.

📰 Examples

Here are some examples of figuratively used in a sentence:

• Rajiv, speaking figuratively, said that he'd been to heck and back.

• "I have the weight of the world on my shoulders," said Ayana, speaking figuratively.

• Nora noted that she was, figuratively speaking, drowning in paperwork.

• When Tony said he was "burning with jealousy", he was speaking figuratively.

🧠 Quick vocab quiz on figuratively

Test yourself!

figuratively most nearly means

(A) overly.
(B) metaphorically.
(C) quietly.
(D) briefly.
(E) actually.

And one more:

In which of the following sentences is figuratively used correctly?

(A) Francis figuratively went to the store.
(B) I'm figuratively melting in this heat.
(C) Trika figuratively took a nap.
(D) We are figuratively eating dinner.
(E) Juanathan is figuratively reading a book.

Scroll down for the answer/s.

💁🏼 Tips on using the word figuratively correctly

Remember, figuratively should be used when you're not speaking literally, but using symbols, metaphors, or exaggerations. Be careful not to mix it up with 'literally', which means exactly what the words denote.

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✅ Quiz answer/s

Answers:

• B, metaphorically.

• B, I'm figuratively melting....

That's it for today's SAT word. If it helped you, please leave a comment below or share this word with other people who are prepping for the SAT..

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