Dictionary

literally en · ADV

Pronunciation

• /ˈlɪ.tɹə.li/ (UK)
• /ˈlɪ.tə.ɹə.li/ (General-American)
• /ˈlɪ.tɹə.li/ (General-American)
• /ˈlɪ.təɹ.li/ (General-American)
• (US) audio
• (US) audio
• /ˈlɪ.tə.ɹə.li/ (UK)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂leyH-der. Old Latin leitera Latin līterader.? Proto-Hellenic *dipʰtʰérā? Ancient Greek διφθέρᾱ (diphthérā)bor. Etruscan [Term?]bor.? Latin littera Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Late Latin litterālisbor. Old French literalbor. Middle English literal Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -ly Middle English litteraly English literally From Middle English litteraly. See literal and letter. By surface analysis, literal + -ly.

Meanings

1. In a literal manner; exactly as stated, word for word. ▸ Without overstatement or understatement, or false or misleading words.
   • He's prone to exaggeration, so don't take what he says literally.
   • There are literally millions of individual pieces of space debris orbiting Earth.
2. In a literal manner; exactly as stated, word for word. ▸ With phrasings that might normally be used or understood as figurative: truly; not figuratively; not as an idiom or metaphor.
   • I didn't have time to repair the wall, so I literally just papered over the cracks.
   • 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.
   • Lights were going out. A raid! A raid! It was a panic, literally, in a whorehouse! 1969, Allen V. Ross, Vice in Bombay, London: Tallis Press, page 142:
   • All events became omens; I lost the ability to take anything literally. 1991, Douglas Coupland, “Dead at 30 Buried at 70”, in Generation X, New York: St. Martin's Press, →OCLC, page 31:
   • […] Men In Black 3 finagles its way out of this predicament by literally resetting the clock with a time-travel premise that makes Will Smith both a contemporary intergalactic cop in the late 1960s and a stranger to Josh Brolin, who plays the younger version of Smith’s stone-faced future partner, Tommy Lee Jones. 2012 May 24, Nathan Rabin, “Film: Reviews: Men In Black 3”, in The Onion AV Club:
   • As lawmakers and staff rushed out, aides snatched the boxes containing the Electoral College certificates, making sure that the vandals could not literally steal the results of the election. 2021 January 7, Luke Broadwater, Emily Cochrane, “Inside the Capitol, the Sound of the Mob Came First”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
3. In a literal manner; exactly as stated, word for word. ▸ Draws attention to a pun or other wordplay involving an idiom.
   • My daughter's pet rabbit had babies, and now we've literally got rabbits coming out of our ears.
   • What literally broke the ice that first night was when a 98-year-old retired professor spoke up. “Well, I have a choice of what to think about when I have insomnia at night. Being a lover of mathematics, last night when I couldn't sleep, I decided to calculate the tonnage of ice I delivered as a boy.” 2013 March 27, Melanie Kloetzel, Carolyn Pavlik, editor, Site Dance: Choreographers and the Lure of Alternative Spaces, University Press of Florida, →ISBN, page 341:
   • Profit and corporate giving are, quite literally, two sides of the same coin. 2025 July 1, Filippo Menga, Thirst: The Global Quest to Solve the Water Crisis, Verso Books, →ISBN, page 91:
   • Outside of all the learned institutions of his country, and while employed with his chisel and hammer, as a stone mason, this man literally killed two birds with one stone; for he earned his daily bread and at the same time made himself an eminent geologist, and gave to the world books which are found in all public libraries and which are full of inspiration to the truth seeker. 2023 November 29, Frederick Douglass, The Complete Works: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom, The Heroic Slave..., Good Press, page 1306:
4. (colloquial) As an intensifier. ▸ Used as a general intensifier or dramatiser, sometimes tending towards a meaningless filler.
   • She was literally like, "What?", and I was literally like, "Yeah".
   • I had no idea, so I was literally guessing.
   • I was literally having breakfast when she arrived.
   • Literally who is this?
   • Pearl: Steven, we are not like the No Home Boys. We are literally standing in your home right now. 2015, “On the Run”, in Steven Universe:
5. (proscribed, sometimes) As an intensifier. ▸ Used as an intensifier with statements or terms that are in fact meant figuratively and not word for word as stated.
   • He was so surprised, he literally jumped twenty feet in the air.
   • You literally become the ball in a tennis match, you become the report that you are working on […] 1993, Wayne W. Dyer, Real Magic, page 193:
   • On 9/11 people were literally glued to their TV sets.
   • 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. 1827, Sir Walter Scott, “Appendix to Introduction”, in Chronicles of the Canongate, archived from the original on 15 Jun 2021:
   • [O]ne can assume that the millions or billions of ringgit spent on the war against drugs have gone down the drain, literally. 2017 April 22, New Straits Times, Malaysia, page 20:
   • People can't even express their opinions freely in this country any more. Literally 1984!
6. (colloquial) Used as a generic downtoner: just, merely.
   • It's not even hard⁠ to make—you literally just put it in the microwave for five minutes and it's done.
   • It won't take me long to get back, 'cause the store's literally two blocks away.

Forms

Antonyms

figuratively · virtually · metaphorically · idiomatically

Coordinates

etymonically

Deriveds

legiterally · litro · literally who

Synonyms

ad verbum · surely · not gonna lie · simply · merely · all things considered · ad verbum · indubitably · in reality · truthfully · in actuality · properly · soothfast · indeed · in all honesty · in fact · really · legitimately · honestly · above a bit · very much · forsooth · actually · tbh · in point of fact · TBH · just · frankly · ad verbum · to be honest · verily · but · simply · truly · unmetaphorically · right · fact is · wis · only · literally · actually · certainly · unfiguratively · barely · merely · in truth · definitely · literally · undoubtedly · really · by right · nothing but · de facto · to tell the truth · soothly · no more than · to be frank · in faith · as a matter of fact · de jure · come to think of it

Translations (74)

yi ממש (in a literal manner) · nb bokstavelig (in a literal manner) · ar حَرْفِيًّا (in a literal manner) · da bogstavelig talt (in a literal manner) · sh doslovce (in a literal manner) · uk у прямо́му се́нсі (in a literal manner) · es literal (in a literal manner) · gl literalmente (in a literal manner) · ka პირდაპირი გაგებით (in a literal manner) · de wörtlich (in a literal manner) · tt сүзгә-сүз (in a literal manner) · cmn 按照字面 (in a literal manner) · el κυριολεκτικά (in a literal manner) · ja 額面通り (in a literal manner) · ka პირდაპირი მნიშვნელობით (in a literal manner) · hu szó szerint (in a literal manner) · uk літера́льно (in a literal manner) · el κατά γράμμα (in a literal manner) · fa لفظا (in a literal manner) · da bogstavelig taget (in a literal manner) · eo laŭlitere (in a literal manner) · sk doslova (in a literal manner) · acw حَرْفِيَّا (in a literal manner) · uk буква́льно (in a literal manner) · tt һич үзгәртмичә (in a literal manner) · ml അക്ഷരാർത്ഥത്തിൽ (in a literal manner) · ca literalment (in a literal manner) · ro literalmente (in a literal manner) · fo bókstavliga (in a literal manner) · ru буква́льно (in a literal manner) · de buchstäblich (in a literal manner) · cs doslova (in a literal manner) · sh bukvalno (in a literal manner) · sv bokstavligen (in a literal manner) · it letteralmente (in a literal manner) · eo laŭvorte (in a literal manner) · da bogstavelig (in a literal manner) · nl letterlijk (in a literal manner) · tr resmen (in a literal manner) · is bókstaflega (in a literal manner) · tt сүзен сүзгә (in a literal manner) · he פְּשׁוּטוֹ כְּמַשְׁמָעוֹ (in a literal manner) · hu szóról szóra (in a literal manner) · da bogstaveligt taget (in a literal manner) · ja 文字通り (in a literal manner) · sv bokstavligt talat (in a literal manner) · fi kirjaimellisesti (in a literal manner) · mk буквално (in a literal manner) · ur لفظی معنی (in a literal manner) · es literalmente (in a literal manner) · hy բառացիորեն (in a literal manner) · da bogstaveligt (in a literal manner) · hu szabályosan (in a literal manner) · wa mot po mot (in a literal manner) · af letterlik (in a literal manner) · fr mot à mot (in a literal manner) · la ad verbum (in a literal manner) · sh tačno tako (in a literal manner) · fr littéralement (in a literal manner) · tr harfiyen (in a literal manner) · he בְּאֹפֶן מִלּוּלִי (in a literal manner) · ka სიტყვასიტყვით (in a literal manner) · fr textuellement (in a literal manner) · fr texto (in a literal manner) · sh doslovno (in a literal manner) · pl dosłownie (in a literal manner) · ar بِٱلْحَرْف (in a literal manner) · fi sananmukaisesti (in a literal manner) · es textualmente (in a literal manner) · nn bokstaveleg (in a literal manner) · de im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes (in a literal manner) · ru досло́вно (in a literal manner) · da bogstaveligt talt (in a literal manner) · pt literalmente (in a literal manner)