different between omnivorous vs figurative

English

Etymology

From omni- +? -vorous; from the Latin omni, all and -vore.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: om?niv?o?rous

Adjective

omnivorous (not comparable)

1. Having a diet which is neither exclusively carnivorous nor exclusively herbivorous.
2. (figuratively) Having an interest in a variety of subjects.
   • 1968, Robert Ligon Harrison, Samuel Beckett's Murphy; a critical excursion (page 57)

     The Beckettian progression appears occasionally: while Miss Counihan (static) is an omnivorous reader and Murphy (transitional) a strict non-reader, Cooper is an analphabete.

   • 2003, Simon Winchester, The Meaning of Everything; The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary, New York: Oxford University Press. p.72:

     He was omnivorous in his appetite for knowledge, quite catholic in his range of interests […]

3. (figuratively) All-consuming.

Derived terms

• omnivorousness

Related terms

• omnivore, carnivorous, herbivorous, insectivorous

Translations

English

Etymology

From Middle French figuratif.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?f?????t?v/

Adjective

figurative (comparative more figurative, superlative most figurative)

1. 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.
2. Metaphorically so called.
3. With many figures of speech.
4. Emblematic, symbolic; representative, exemplative
   • 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie

     This, they will say, was figurative, and served, by God's appointment, but for a time, to shadow out the true glory of a more divine sanctity.

5. (art) representing forms recognisable in life and clearly derived from real object sources, in contrast to abstract art.
   • 1875-1886, John Addington Symonds, Renaissance in Italy

     They belonged to a nation dedicated to the figurative arts, and they wrote for a public familiar with painted form.

Usage notes

• Said of language, expression, etc.

Antonyms

• literal

Derived terms

Related terms

• figure

Translations

Further reading

• figurative in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• figurative in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• “figurative”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
• figurative art on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fi.?y.?a.tiv/
• Homophone: figuratives

Adjective

figurative

1. feminine singular of figuratif

German

Pronunciation

Adjective

figurative

1. inflection of figurativ:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Adjective

figurative

1. feminine plural of figurativo

Anagrams

• figuratevi

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

figurative

1. definite singular/plural of figurativ

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

figurative

1. definite singular/plural of figurativ