figurative language
Literal and figurative language
Literal and figurative language is a distinction within some fields of
language analysis, in particular
stylistics,
rhetoric, and
semantics.
- Literal language uses words exactly according to their proper meanings or precise definitions.
- Figurative (or non-literal) language uses words deviating from their proper definitions in order to achieve a more complicated understanding or heightened effect. Figurative language is often achieved by presenting words in order for them to be equated, compared, or associated with other normally unrelated words or meanings.