figurately

English

Etymology

From figurate +‎ -ly.

Adverb

figurately (comparative more figurately, superlative most figurately)

figuratively, in a figurative manner.
- 1849, William Nind, Lecture-Sermons preached in a Country Parish Church, pages 115–116:
  It is as when we seek for the signification of any particular word in a language; we may find that it bears many different meanings, and some which seem to be contradictory to each other; yet upon further search we may perhaps discover that there is a common idea, which is the source of them all, and that they differ only because the word is taken in one sense literally, in another figurately, and in a third with some special application.
- 1887, Henry Clews, Twenty-eight Years in Wall Street, page 233:
  He stood in the centre of that great pile, figurately speaking, the cynosure of all eyes from Maine to California, and his fame was noised abroad in Europe.
In a figurate manner; Using or forming a figure.
- 1701, Samuel Jeake, A Compleat Body of Arithmetic:
  As was observed before in Figuration of Surds; so here it may be remembred that any Species simply Irrational, multiplied figurately, produceth a Rational: But Compound Irrational Species may be squared, cubed, etc. by multiplying them figurately as other Figural Numbers are multiplied; but the Unciae to the Parodical Degrees here, will be the Squares of them in Rational Species.
- 1977, Slovenské národné múzeum, Ivan Mačák, Sources of Slovak Music, page 108:
  In the regulations for Trnava school, which Nicolaus Olahus issued in 1554, we find "The sublector should support a school succentor, who would teach the boys to sing figurately, as well as Gregorian chant."