metaphorically

Metaphorically is an adverb used to indicate that a statement should be understood in a figurative rather than literal sense. It signals that language employs metaphor, imagery, or symbolic meaning rather than describing observable reality. In usage, it often accompanies a sentence to reduce ambiguity or to acknowledge that the assertion is not factual in a strict sense. For example, one might say, "Metaphorically speaking, the organization is a living organism that grows through collaboration," or "The plan is metaphorically a maze, with many potential paths and dead ends." The term helps distinguish figurative claims from literal statements, and it is common in literary analysis, journalism, and everyday speech.

Metaphorically is formed from the noun metaphor plus the adverbial suffix -ly, and traces its etymology to the Greek metaphorē, meaning "a conveyance or transfer of meaning." The concept it expresses is a component of figurative language, which also includes simile, personification, and idiom. Readers and listeners use the adverb to interpret claims as symbolic rather than factual, though in practice readers may still infer literal implications from the context.

See also: metaphor, figurative language, literal language, idiom.