Definition of literaly
1. literally [ r ] in a literal sense
Examples:
"literally translated"
"he said so literally"
(High Fidelity, 11:10...)
The Presto ma_non_assai of the first trio of the scherzo is taken literally and may shock you , as the real Allegro_con_spirito of the finale is likely to bring you to your feet .
(J. H. Hexter, "Thomas More: On the Margins...)
The apostolic community was literally an elite : chosen by Christ himself .
(Clement Greenberg, "Collage" in his Art and...)
This he did by using utterly literal means to carry the forward push of the collage ( and of Cubism in_general ) literally into the literal space in_front of the picture_plane .
(W. E. B. DuBois, Worlds of Color....)
Literally , there was nothing else to do .
Synonyms literally Related Terms figuratively literal literal2. literally [ r ] (intensifier before a figurative expression) without exaggeration
Examples:
"our eyes were literally pinned to TV during the Gulf war"
(Philip Reaves, "Who Rules the Marriage Bed?"...)
Family survival on our own Western frontier , for_example , could quite literally depend_on a man 's strength and ability to bring_home_the_bacon ; and the dependent wife seldom questioned his judgment about anything , including the marriage bed .
Wives of the period shamefacedly thought_of themselves as `` used '' by their husbands - and , history indicates , they often quite literally were .
(William C. Smith, "Why Fear Ideas?"...)
In the 1930 's , cures for the depression literally flooded Washington .
Synonyms virtually literally Related Terms intensifierSimilar Spelling
literallyliteral
Litteral
littoral
litoral
literalize
literalism
literalise
literalness
Littrell
laterally
lateral
Litherland
litter_lout
