literally
Pronunciation: /ˈlɪ.tə.ɹə.li/
The English word “literally” has 6 meanings listed here.
adverb
- Without overstatement or understatement, or false or misleading words.
- With phrasings that might normally be used or understood as figurative: truly; not figuratively; not as an idiom or metaphor.
- Draws attention to a pun or other wordplay involving an idiom.
- Used as a general intensifier or dramatiser, sometimes tending towards a meaningless filler.
- Used as an intensifier with statements or terms that are in fact meant figuratively and not word for word as stated.
- Used as a generic downtoner: just, merely.
Etymology
From Middle English litteraly. See literal and letter. By surface analysis, literal + -ly.
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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.