The word here is used in its figurative sense. 此词在这儿取的是它的比喻意义。
He imprisoned her,in a figurative sense. 在比喻的意义上,他把她关在牢里了。
This has long been taken not only literally, but also in a figurative sense, for the Orient has been considered as the source of wisdom and illumination. 很久以来人们认为这种说法不但是真实的而且还有比喻的含义，因为东方一直被认为是智慧和启蒙的发源地。
Baptism is a figurative ceremony. 受洗礼是象征的礼节。
Work in recent years has taken the form of large-scale figurative, ceramic sculptures. 最近几年的创作主要是体形大且具象征性的陶瓷作品。
From a cave in southwestern Germany, archaeologists have unearthed the oldest known piece of figurative art. 在德国西南部的一个山洞里，考古学家们发现了一件年代久远的象征艺术作品。
