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Can I say, "Your example was quite graphical"?

A person wrote an answer to me on StackOverflow and provided a very good example with pictures. Saying "your example was good" or "nice" or "clear" seems to me to be too general. On the other hand, I've searched and didn't find any case of "graphical example" on Google.

herisson
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brilliant
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No. The correct form is "your example was quite graphic". You'll find plenty of Google hits for "graphic example".

EDIT: Some years later, I find myself disagreeing with that "absolutist" No above. Here's an NGram showing that a graphical example has been gaining traction (whereas a graphic example has actually declined over recent decades, though it still accounts for the great majority of usages).

More to the point, this NGram shows that with the specific referent noun approach, the longer version a graphical approach is actually more common...

enter image description here

So realistically I'd have to say it's akin to electric/electrical, where the "extended" form is not generally used metaphorically in the way electric is. With no other context, I'd assume OP's quite graphic example was a somewhat metaphoric usage (giving clear and vividly explicit details), which could even be used in contexts with no visual component at all.

TLDR: For the literal sense (involving visual imagery, sometimes specifically charts or graphs), the -al form is more likely. For OP's "metaphoric" sense, the shorter form is much more common.

FumbleFingers
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    Though this often has a connotation of "bloody" or "violent." Maybe "highly illustrative" (as Kelly mentioned) would more effectively express what he seeks. – snumpy Mar 26 '11 at 15:56
  • @snumpy: Completely agree. Graphic example would usually be taken to mean explicit in a violent or sexual way. – Jimi Oke Mar 26 '11 at 17:15
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The example in question was well illustrated. This adjectives makes it clear that graphics were used to enhance the example. You could also use visual.

Illuminating is also a good word to use, although it does not necessarily imply the presence of graphics in the example; it only means the example was lucid and enlightening.

Several options:

  • Your example was well illustrated and quite illuminating.
  • Your example was lucid and well illustrated.
  • Your example was quite visual.
JPmiaou
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Jimi Oke
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You say you don't want to say "good" because it's not specific enough. So, be more specific and say what you mean. But, I think you're trying to go for:

Your example was enlightening.

tenfour
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  • So, be more specific and say what you mean - I think I did that in my question. The person who wrote his answer to me used one example and provided a lot of pictures. Those pictures were mainly graphs and diagrams making it easy for me to understand his example. – brilliant Mar 27 '11 at 02:05
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    "Graphical" or "visual" is not a compliment by itself. I don't think there's a good single-word drop-in for "helpful because of the visuals". I would probably say, "Thanks - the visuals really make things clear" or something like that. – tenfour Mar 27 '11 at 02:09
  • I would probably say, "Thanks - the visuals really make things clear" - This is a good one. I'll be using it in such cases. Thank you. – brilliant Mar 27 '11 at 02:29