Figure
Figure noun - Something that visually explains or decorates a text.
Usage example: the layout editor could have done a better job of getting the figures on the same page as the specific portion of text that they are intended to illustrate
Key
Key noun - An explanatory list of the symbols on a map or chart.
How words are described
Both words in one sentence
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A hacking group found that Zelda's key had a NULL byte fairly early, so they could bruteforce out to the null byte and didn't have to figure out the rest of the key.
Source: Password Slot Machine -
When a musical group loses one (or more) of its key members, such as the lead singer or a similar Face of the Band figure, it usually breaks up—but not always.
Source: The Band Minus the Face - In Dragon Age II, Cassandra and the Seekers are desperately trying to figure out who out of all the key players in Kirkwall, was the Big Bad responsible for the outbreak of the Mage/Templar War.
Source: Outside-Context Problem
Cite this Source
Key and Figure. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/figure/key
Figure & Key. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/figure/key>.
Key or Figure. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/figure/key.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "figure" and "key" have occurred on timeline