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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



328 words match “FIGURATIVE”

SHARP-SIGHTED a.
Having quick or acute sight; -- used literally and figuratively. -- Sharp`-sight`ed*ness, n.
SHIELD n.
Figuratively, one who protects or defends. Fear not, Abram; I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. Gen. xv. 1.
SHOEHORN; SHOEING-HORN n.
Figuratively:
SHRIMP n.
Figuratively, a little wrinkled man; a dwarf; -- in contempt. This weak and writhled shrimp. Shak. Opossum shrimp. (Zoöl.) See under Opossum. -- Spector shrimp, or Skeleton shrimp (Zoöl.), any slender amphipod crustacean of the genus Caprella and allied genera. See Illust. under Læmodopoda. -- Shrimp catcher (Zoöl.),…
SIGH n.
Figuratively, a manifestation of grief; a lan With their sighs the air Frequenting, sent from hearts contrite. Milton.
SINK v.
Figuratively: To cause to decline; to depress; to degrade; hence, to ruin irretrievably; to destroy, as by drowping; as, to sink one's reputation. I raise of sink, imprison or set free. Prior. If I have a conscience, let it sink me. Shak. Thy cruel and unnatural lust of power Has sunk thy father more than all his years…
SIZE n.
Figurative bulk; condition as to rank, ability, character, etc.; as, the office demands a man of larger size. Men of a less size and quality. L'Estrange. The middling or lower size of people. Swift.
SKELETON n.
Hence, figuratively:
SLAVE n.
e sold to foreigners. -- Slave driver, one who superintends slaves at their work; hence, figuratively, a cruel taskmaster. -- Slave hunt. (a) A search after persons in order to reduce them to slavery. Barth. (b) A search after fugitive slaves, often conducted with bloodhounds. -- Slave ship, a vessel employed in the…
SLEEP v.
Figuratively:
SLING n.
The act or motion of hurling as with a sling; a throw; figuratively, a stroke. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Shak. At one sling Of thy victorius arm, well-pleasing Son. Milton.
SLIPSHOD a.
Figuratively: Careless in dress, manners, style, etc.; slovenly; shuffling; as, slipshod manners; a slipshod or loose style of writing. Thy wit shall ne'er go slipshod. Shak.
SMACK n.
slight taste or flavor; savor; tincture; as, a smack of bitter in the medicine. Also used figuratively. So quickly they have taken a smack in covetousness. Robynson (More's Utopia). They felt the smack of this world. Latimer.
SOOTERKIN n.
led to be produced by Dutch women from sitting over their stoves; also, an abortion, in a figurative sense; an abortive scheme. Fruits of dull heat, and sooterkins of wit. Pope.
SOW v. 3 definitions
To scatter, as seed, upon the earth; to plant by strewing; as, to sow wheat. Also used figuratively: To spread abroad; to propagate. "He would sow some difficulty." Chaucer. A sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside. Matt. xiii. 3, 4. And sow dissension in the hearts of brothers. Addi…
SPANGLE n.
Figuratively, any little thing that sparkless. "The rich spangles that adorn the sky." Waller. Oak spangle. See under Oak.
SPARTAN a.
A native or inhabitant of Sparta; figuratively, a person of great courage and fortitude.
SPENDTHRIFT n.
profusely or improvidently; a prodigal; one who lavishes or wastes his estate. Also used figuratively. A woman who was a generous spendthrift of life. Mrs. R. H. Davis.
SPICE n.
Figuratively, that which enriches or alters the quality of a thing in a small degree, as spice alters the taste of food; that which gives zest or pungency; a slight flavoring; a relish; hence, a small quantity or admixture; a sprinkling; as, a spice of mischief. So much of the will, with a spice of the willful. Colerid…
STEEP v.
extract the essence of by soaking; as, to soften seed by steeping it in water. Often used figuratively. Let fancy still my sense in Lethe steep. Shak. In refreshing dew to steep The little, trembling flowers. Wordsworth. The learned of the nation were steeped in Latin. Earle.
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