Literal and figurative languageFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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When "She is as pretty as a daisy" is used to describe the woman on the left, it is a figurative use of language - it does not mean that she looks like a daisy. When "She is as pretty as a daisy" is used to describe the woman on the right, it is used in literal manner - she has the petals and leaves of a flower.Linguistics
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Literal and figurative language is a distinction within some fields of language analysis. Literal language refers to words that do not deviate from their defined meaning. Non-literal or figurative language refers to words, and groups of words, that exaggerate or alter the usual meanings of the component words.
A literal usage is the "normal" meanings of the words.[1] It maintains a consistent meaning regardless of the context,[2] with "the intended meaning corresponding exactly to the meaning" of the individual words.[3] Figurative use of language is the use of words or phrases in a manner where the literal meaning of the words is not true or does not make sense, but "implies a non-literal meaning which does make sense or that could be true".[4]