literal
High (C2)Formal, academic, technical, and increasingly informal (in its emphatic sense).
Definition
Meaning
Taking words in their most basic, straightforward meaning, without metaphor, exaggeration, or interpretation.
1. The exact, primary meaning of a word or text. 2. Concerned with or reproducing the exact words of a text (e.g., a literal translation). 3. (informal) Used for emphasis to express a surprising or extreme truth (e.g., I was literally frozen). 4. Actual, factual, or free from distortion.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The word has a formal, primary sense (exact meaning) and a contested, informal sense (used for emphasis). The tension between these uses is a notable point of linguistic debate.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in core meaning. The informal emphatic usage (e.g., "I literally died laughing") is common and equally debated in both varieties.
Connotations
In formal contexts, it carries connotations of precision, accuracy, and pedantry. In informal contexts, its emphatic use can be seen as hyperbolic and stylistically marked.
Frequency
High frequency in both varieties across formal and informal registers.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[adjective] + noun (literal meaning)verb + [adjective] (take literally)preposition + [adjective] (in a literal sense)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Take something literally”
- “The literal truth”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Rare, except in legal or technical documentation where 'literal interpretation' of a clause might be discussed.
Academic
Common in literary criticism, linguistics, law, and philosophy to discuss meaning and interpretation.
Everyday
Common, especially in the informal emphatic sense ("I literally just saw him").
Technical
Key term in computing (literal value, string literal), law, and translation studies.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- (Not a standard verb form)
American English
- (Not a standard verb form)
adverb
British English
- (Form: 'literally') She was literally shaking with fear after the ordeal.
- (Form: 'literally') The guidebook was translated literally, making it hard to follow.
American English
- (Form: 'literally') The phrase 'break a leg' shouldn't be taken literally.
- (Form: 'literally') I literally ran ten miles yesterday.
adjective
British English
- A literal translation from Chinese often sounds odd in English.
- He's so humourless, he takes every comment in the most literal way.
American English
- The literal meaning of 'cool' is about temperature, not style.
- Her account was a literal description of the events.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The word 'hot' can mean high temperature or very popular. The literal meaning is about temperature.
- He told me to 'get lost'! I hope he doesn't mean it literally.
- A word-for-word translation is called a literal translation.
- When I said I was starving, I didn't mean it literally—I was just very hungry.
- The poet plays with the contrast between the literal and figurative meanings of words.
- The contract must be interpreted in its literal sense to avoid ambiguity.
- Her insistence on a purely literal reading of the sacred text ignores centuries of allegorical commentary.
- Critics argue that the overuse of 'literally' as an intensifier has eroded its original meaning.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'literal' like 'letter' - it's about the exact letters/words, not the implied meaning.
Conceptual Metaphor
MEANING IS A CONTAINER (the 'container' holds the basic, surface-level meaning).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid confusing with 'литературный' (literary).
- The Russian 'буквальный' is a direct cognate but is used less frequently in informal, emphatic contexts than the English 'literally'.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'literally' as a meaningless intensifier in formal writing (e.g., 'The market literally exploded').
- Confusing 'literal' (factual) with 'literary' (related to literature).
Practice
Quiz
In which context is the word 'literal' used INCORRECTLY in standard formal English?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a very common feature of informal spoken English, but it is widely criticised in formal writing as illogical. Dictionaries now list this as an informal, intensive use.
'Literal' refers to the basic, dictionary definition of a word. 'Figurative' refers to a non-literal, metaphorical or symbolic use of language (e.g., 'a heart of stone').
Yes, but rarely in everyday language. In typography, a misprinted letter is called a 'literal'. In logic and computing, a 'literal' is a notation representing a fixed value.
Someone who understands words only in their most basic sense and fails to recognise irony, sarcasm, metaphor, or exaggeration.
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