a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in A mighty fortress is our God. Compare mixed metaphor , simile ( def. 1 ) .

something used, or regarded as being used, to represent something else; emblem; symbol.

adjective

allegorical , denotative , descriptive , emblematic , illustrative , metaphoric , representative , symbolic , tropological