Literally Definition
literally
Contents |
English
Etymology
Pronunciation
Adverb
literally (not comparable)
- (speech act) word for word; not figuratively; not as an idiom or metaphor
- When I saw on the news that there would be no school tomorrow because of the snowstorm, I literally jumped for joy, and hit my head on the ceiling fan.
- (degree, proscribed) used non-literally as an intensifier for figurative statements: virtually (often considered incorrect; see usage notes)
- 1827, Sir Walter Scott, Chronicles of the Canongate
- The house was literally electrified; and it was only from witnessing the effects of her genius that he could guess to what a pitch theatrical excellence could be carried.
- 1894, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- […] at a time when Europe was ringing with his name and when his room was literally ankle-deep with congratulatory telegrams […]
- 1993, Wayne W. Dyer, Real Magic, page 193:
- You literally become the ball in a tennis match, you become the report that you are working on […]
- 1827, Sir Walter Scott, Chronicles of the Canongate
- (UK, colloquial) Used as a generic downtoner: just, merely.
- You literally put it in the microwave for five minutes and it's done.
Usage notes
"Literally" is the opposite of "figuratively", so many authorities object to the use of literally as an intensifier for figurative statements. For example "you literally become the ball", by the primary sense, would mean actually transforming into a spherical object, while it is likely that the speaker means "figuratively" and is using literally as an intensifier. However, it is now common in colloquial speech for this mistake to be made, as in, "she was literally in floods of tears".
Quotations
- For examples of the usage of this term see the citations page.
Synonyms
Antonyms
- (not metaphorically): figuratively, metaphorically, virtually
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