composed of or relating to human or animal figures
figural in American English
(ˈfɪgjʊrəl; ˈfɪgjərəl)
adjective
of or made up of human or animal figures, as a painting; representational
figural in American English
(ˈfɪɡjərəl)
adjective
consisting of figures, esp. human or animal figures
the figural representations contained in ancient wall paintings
Derived forms
figurally
adverb
Word origin
[1400–50; late ME ‹ LL figūrālis, equiv. to L figūrafigure + -ālis-al1]This word is first recorded in the period 1400–50. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: gallery, mature, oblique, partition, separate
Examples of 'figural' in a sentence
figural
The largest obstacle is the figural mode in which those ideas were expressed.
The Times Literary Supplement (2010)
We have here, therefore, a contemporary sculptor who is deliberately and knowledgeably referencing sculpture's jam-packed figuralpast.