The literal definition of a word

What is the literal meaning or dictionary definition of a word?

in exact accordance with or limited to the primary or explicit meaning of a word or text. word for word. dull, factual, or prosaic. consisting of, concerning, or indicated by letters. true; actual.

Is the dictionary definition of a word is the feeling or idea associated with a word?

the literal meaning of a word. the emotion or idea associated with a word. …

What is the definition of the word connotation?

Connotation is the use of a word to suggest a different association than its literal meaning, which is known as denotation.

What is denotation and connotation examples?

While denotation is the literal meaning of the word, connotation is a feeling or indirect meaning. For example: Denotation: blue (color blue) Connotation: blue (feeling sad)

What is the difference between denotative and connotative meaning of a word?

Connotation refers to the wide array of positive and negative associations that most words naturally carry with them, whereas denotation is the precise, literal definition of a word that might be found in a dictionary.

What is a connotative effect?

Connotation refers to an implied meaning that’s associated with a word in addition to its literal meaning. This association can be cultural or emotional. For example, the word “stingy” promotes a negative image.

How do you know if connotation is positive or negative?

Connotation is an idea or feeling that a word evokes. If something has a positive connotation, it will evoke warm feelings. Meanwhile, something with a negative connotation will make someone feel less than pleasant. To call someone “verbose” when you want to say they’re a “great conversationalist” may not convey that.

Is God ineffable?

Biblical Basis. As such God reveals himself as an ineffable mystery. God is known as the one who cannot be known. The name he gives to Moses, “I Am Who Am” (Ex 3:14), is a revelation, but it is also ineffable and incomprehensible. God “dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has every seen or can see” (1 Tm 16).

How do you use ineffable?

Ineffable in a Sentence ?

  1. The model’s beauty is ineffable and has everyone tongue-tied.
  2. When Jake saw his fiancée walking down the church aisle, he experienced an ineffable feeling.
  3. Obviously, my husband’s request for a divorce has left me in an ineffable mood.

What means ineffable?

1a : incapable of being expressed in words : indescribable ineffable joy. b : unspeakable ineffable disgust.

What is the ineffable name of God?

The Pronunciation of the “Ineffable Name” According to a Jewish Text in the Museum. One of the mysteries of Biblical scholarship is the correct form and pronunciation of the name of the God of Israel. This name consists of four consonants which may be represented in English by the letters YHWH.

What does threequel mean?

noun [countable] a third film in a series of three films based on the same story or theme.

What part of speech is ineffable?

adjective. incapable of being expressed or described in words; inexpressible: ineffable joy.

What is an oppressive?

Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment or exercise of power, often under the guise of governmental authority or cultural opprobrium. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced.

What does secessionist mean?

Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal is the creation of a new state or entity independent from the group or territory it seceded from.

Why did states secede?

Many maintain that the primary cause of the war was the Southern states’ desire to preserve the institution of slavery. Others minimize slavery and point to other factors, such as taxation or the principle of States’ Rights. All four states strongly defend slavery while making varying claims related to states’ rights.

Did the South legally secede?

The Constitution does not directly mention secession. The legality of secession was hotly debated in the 19th century. Thus, these scholars argue, the illegality of unilateral secession was not firmly de facto established until the Union won the Civil War; in this view, the legal question was resolved at Appomattox.

What does secession mean as it relates to the southern states?

Secession, as it applies to the outbreak of the American Civil War, comprises the series of events that began on December 20, 1860, and extended through June 8 of the next year when eleven states in the Lower and Upper South severed their ties with the Union. The term secession had been used as early as 1776.

Is secession a treason?

10. That secession is treason, and that all who uphold it by menace or force, or by giving aid in any degree, or in any manner, are traitors, and legally subject to capital punishment.

When did the Southern states secede?

1860

What does denotation mean Brainly?

Explanation: Denotation means the strict, exact, precise, accurate or real meaning of a word or what is being communicated. Denotations do not deviate from the actual or dictionary meanings of words or what is being communicated. Kaneppeleqw and 7 more users found this answer helpful. Thanks 4.

What does Denotatively mean?

1. Denoting or naming; designative. 2. Specific or direct: denotative and connotative meanings.

What is Conative?

: an inclination (such as an instinct, a drive, a wish, or a craving) to act purposefully : impulse sense 1.

What are the 4 Conative types?

There are four action modes in Kolbe: Fact Finder, Follow Thru, Quickstart and Implementor. These are driven by instincts, and represent the primary ways we tackle challenges.

What are Conative skills?

Conative skills deal in feelings, emotions, and harnessing them in order to be more productive. They include the ability to: Interpret situations.

What is Conative behavior?

Behavioral (or conative) component: the way the attitude we have influences on how we act or behave. For example: “I will avoid spiders and scream if I see one”. Cognitive component: this involves a person’s belief / knowledge about an attitude object. For example: “I believe spiders are dangerous”.

What are the 3 components of an attitude?

Typically, attitudes are favorable or unfavorable: positive or negative (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993). And, they have three components: an affective component (feelings), a behavioral component (the effect of the attitude on behavior), and a cognitive component (belief and knowledge) (Rosenberg & Hovland, 1960).

What is the difference between attitude and Behaviour?

While attitude involves mind’s predisposition to certain ideas, values, people, systems, institutions; behaviour relates to the actual expression of feelings, action or inaction orally or/and through body language.

How does attitude influence Behaviour?

In psychology, an attitude refers to a set of emotions, beliefs, and behaviors toward a particular object, person, thing, or event. Attitudes are often the result of experience or upbringing, and they can have a powerful influence over behavior. While attitudes are enduring, they can also change.

How does attitude develop?

An attitude is an enduring set of emotions or beliefs about a particular object, person, organization, issue or event. They’re formed over time as we are exposed to stimuli and make an evaluation. As we experience the world, our thoughts and emotions coalesce into attitudes, and these then affect our behavior.

How do you change someone’s attitude?

8 Ways to Improve Your Attitude

  1. Always act with a purpose.
  2. Stretch yourself past your limits every day.
  3. Take action without expecting results.
  4. Use setbacks to improve your skills.
  5. Seek out those who share your positive attitude.
  6. Don’t take yourself so seriously.
  7. Forgive the limitations of others.
  8. Say “thank you” more frequently.

The literal meaning is the most obvious or non-figurative sense of a word or words. Language that’s not perceived as metaphorical, ironic, hyperbolic, or sarcastic. Contrast with figurative meaning or non-literal meaning. Noun: literalness.

Gregory Currie has observed that the «literal meaning of ‘literal meaning’ is as vague as that of ‘hill’.» But just as vagueness is no objection to the claim that there are hills, so it is no objection to the claim that there are literal meanings.» (Image and Mind, 1995).

Examples and Observations

«Dictionary definitions are written in literal terms. For example, ‘It is time to feed the cats and dogs.’ This phrase ‘cats and dogs’ is used in a literal sense, for the animals are hungry and it is time to eat. «Figurative language paints word pictures and allows us to ‘see’ a point. For example: ‘It is raining cats and dogs!’ Cats and dogs do not really fall from the sky like rain… This expression is an idiom.» (Passing the Maryland High School Assessment in English, 2006)

«The sea, the great unifier, is man’s only hope. Now, as never before, the old phrase has a literal meaning: we are all in the same boat.» (Jacques Cousteau, National Geographic, 1981)

Zack: «I haven’t been to a comic book store in literally a million years.»
Sheldon Cooper: «Literally? Literally a million years?»
(Brian Smith and Jim Parsons in «The Justice League Recombination.» The Big Bang Theory, 2010)

Processing Literal and Non-Literal Meanings

How do we process metaphorical utterances? The standard theory is that we process non-literal language in three stages. First, we derive the literal meaning of what we hear. Second, we test the literal meaning against the context to see if it is consistent with it. Third, if the literal meaning does not make sense with the context, we seek an alternative, metaphorical meaning.

«One prediction of this three-stage model is that people should ignore the non-literal meanings of statements whenever the literal meaning makes sense because they never need to proceed to the third stage. There is some evidence that people are unable to ignore non-literal meanings… That is, the metaphoric meaning seems to be processed at the same time as the literal meaning.» (Trevor Harley, The Psychology of Language. Taylor & Francis, 2001)

‘What’s the Difference?’

«[A]sked by his wife whether he wants to have his bowling shoes laced over or laced under, Archie Bunker answers with a question: ‘What’s the difference?’ Being a reader of sublime simplicity, his wife replies by patiently explaining the difference between lacing over and lacing under, whatever this may be, but provokes only ire. ‘What’s the difference’ did not ask for the difference but means instead ‘I don’t give a damn what the difference is.’ The same grammatical pattern engenders two meanings that are mutually exclusive: the literal meaning asks for the concept (difference) whose existence is denied by the figurative meaning.» (Paul de Man, Allegories of Reading: Figural Language in Rousseau, Nietzsche, Rilke, and Proust.​​​ Yale University Press, 1979)

Literally and Figuratively

«People have used literally to mean figuratively for centuries, and definitions to this effect have appeared in The Oxford English Dictionary and The Merriam-Webster Dictionary since the early 1900s, accompanied by a note that such usage might be ‘considered irregular’ or ‘criticized as a misuse.’ But literally is one of those words that, regardless of what’s in the dictionary—and sometimes because of it—continues to attract an especially snooty breed of linguistic scrutiny. It is a classic peeve.» (Jen Doll, «You’re Saying It Wrong.» The Atlantic, January/February 2014)

Distinction Between Sentence Meaning and Speaker Meaning

It is crucial to distinguish between what a sentence means (i.e., its literal sentence meaning) and what the speaker means in the utterance of the sentence. We know the meaning of a sentence as soon as we know the meanings of the elements and the rules for combining them. But of course, notoriously, speakers often mean more than or mean something different from what the actual sentences they utter mean. That is, what the speaker means in the utterance of a sentence can depart in various systematic ways from what the sentence means literally. In the limiting case, the speaker might utter a sentence and mean exactly and literally what they say. But there are all sorts of cases where speakers utter sentences and mean something different from or even inconsistent with the literal meaning of the sentence.

«If, for example, I now say, ‘The window is open,’ I might say that, meaning literally that the window is open. In such a case, my speaker meaning coincides with the sentence meaning. But I might have all sorts of other speaker’s meanings that do not coincide with the sentence meaning. I might say ‘The window is open,’ meaning not merely that the window is open, but that I want you to close the window. A typical way to ask people on a cold day to close the window is just to tell them that it is open. Such cases, where one says one thing and means what one says, but also means something else are called ‘indirect speech acts.'» (John Searle, «Literary Theory and Its Discontents.» New Literary History, Summer 1994)

Lemony Snicket on Literal and Figurative Escapes

«It is very useful, when one is young, to learn the difference between ‘literally and figuratively.’ If something happens literally, it actually happens; if something happens figuratively, it feels like it’s happening. If you are literally jumping for joy, for instance, it means you are leaping in the air because you are very happy. If you are figuratively jumping for joy, it means you are so happy that you could jump for joy, but are saving your energy for other matters. The Baudelaire orphans walked back to Count Olaf’s neighborhood and stopped at the home of Justice Strauss, who welcomed them inside and let them choose books from the library. Violet chose several about mechanical inventions, Klaus chose several about wolves, and Sunny found a book with many pictures of teeth inside. They then went to their room and crowded together on the one bed, reading intently and happily. Figuratively, they escaped from Count Olaf and their miserable existence. They did not literally escape, because they were still in his house and vulnerable to Olaf’s evil in loco parentis ways. But by immersing themselves in their favorite reading topics, they felt far away from their predicament, as if they had escaped. In the situation of the orphans, figuratively escaping was not enough, of course, but at the end of a tiring and hopeless day, it would have to do. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny read their books and, in the back of their minds, hoped that soon their figurative escape would eventually turn into a literal one.» (Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning, or Orphans! HarperCollins, 2007)

Adjective



I was using the word in its literal sense.



The literal meaning of “know your ropes” is “to know a lot about ropes,” while figuratively it means “to know a lot about how to do something.”



a literal translation of a book



The story he told was basically true, even if it wasn’t the literal truth.

Recent Examples on the Web



But in a more literal sense, Friedman could not have been more wrong.


Kanishk Tharoor, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2023





Now with the live-action series adaptation, Johnson gives birth to the character for a second time — in a much more literal sense.


Nick Romano, EW.com, 13 Mar. 2023





At Thom Browne, Ambush, and Sandy Liang, the uniform took on a more literal definition.


Megan O’sullivan, Vogue, 1 Mar. 2023





And Martens’s latest denim creations were made with exciting in mind…in the most literal, raunchy sense.


Tara Gonzalez, Harper’s BAZAAR, 23 Feb. 2023





Some are volunteers in the literal sense, burning through their savings to subsidize their work.


Peter Rubin, Longreads, 23 Feb. 2023





The property has only had one owner: Flax and his wife, Joan, who worked with late (and great) architect Bob Ray Offenhauser on this literal dream home.


David Kaufman, Robb Report, 15 Feb. 2023





This is a more literal example of systematic gender disparity.


Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 13 Feb. 2023





The valve attachment is screw-on, which is fine for everyday inflating but a (literal) pain for cold fingers to manipulate in extreme weather.


Jon Langston, Car and Driver, 5 Feb. 2023




David was contending with two friendship deaths—one literal, the other metaphorical.


Jennifer Senior, The Atlantic, 9 Feb. 2022





Tony’s asphyxiation of Christopher makes the metaphorical literal.


Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2021



See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘literal.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

What is literal meaning?

According to Your Dictionary, literal meaning refers to the explicit meaning of a word or literal meaning of a sentence. In the context of utterance of a sentence, this refers to the truth-conditions or set of background assumptions that we take as an assumption of the truth. We assume that the semantic content uses literal language. The literal notation is different from the figurative sense; denotation versus connotation. Often, we take things in a literal sense for the literal truth. The word literal has been used since Middle English comes from Old French, the Latin littera and Late Latin litterālis. The word literal is an adjective. This word can be used in many different contexts, such as a literal translation versus a translation that uses figures of speech, a literal description versus an exaggeration, a literal mind that can only take exact words in a strict sense or unimaginative way, and more. These semantics of pragmatics are important to understand in comparison to figurative language. 

Many different languages also contain words that mean literal. You may notice that some of these translations of literal look and sound similar to one another. These are called cognates, which are words and phrases in different languages that likely have the same root or language of origin, causing them to sound the same. The below list of translations of literal is provided by Word Sense. 

  • Greek: κατά γράμμα‎
  • Mandarin: 字面‎ (zìmiàn)
  • Dutch: letterlijk‎
  • Catalan: literal‎
  • Icelandic: bókstaflegur‎
  • Portuguese: literal‎
  • Danish: bogstavelig‎
  • German: wörtlich‎, buchstäblich‎
  • Swedish: bokstavlig‎
  • French: littéral‎
  • Galician: literal‎
  • Finnish: kirjaimellinen‎, sananmukainen‎
  • Romanian: literally‎ (masc.) (n), literală‎ (fem.)
  • Armenian: բառացի‎
  • Russian: буква́льный‎, досло́вный‎
  • Spanish: literal‎
  • Macedonian: буквален‎ (bukvalen)
  • Czech: doslovný‎ (masc.)
  • Japanese: 逐語的‎
  • Italian: letterale‎, alla lettera‎

What are examples of literal?

The word literal can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or literary technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are a couple of examples of literal that can help get you started incorporating this word into your everyday use. 

  •  The participants in the trial are given a literal set of criterion to assess.
  •  Katz and Wilson took Sperber literally and instead of drawing a bath, drew a picture of a bath. What relevance a drawing had, he did not know.
  •  There was a literal inaccuracy and misprint in the book in the form of a typographical error. It was off by a single letter, but needed to be in exact accordance or it changed the meaning. 

What are synonyms and antonyms of literal?

There are many different words that one can use in place of the word literal. These are called synonyms, which are words and phrases that have the same meaning as another word or phrase. Synonyms are a useful tool to know in the English language because they can help people to avoid repeating themselves while simultaneously growing their vocabulary. This list of synonyms for the word literal is provided by Power Thesaurus. 

  •  meticulous
  •  narrow
  •  word for word
  •  unvarnished
  •  error
  •  literally
  •  corrigendum
  •  authentic
  •  literals
  •  detailed
  •  denotative
  •  straightforward
  •  specific
  •  bona fide
  •  undistorted
  •  literal error
  •  particular
  •  true
  •  proper
  •  conventional
  •  error-free
  •  misprints
  •  concrete
  •  correct
  •  narrowest
  •  literal-minded
  •  realistic
  •  errata
  •  methodical
  •  on the money
  •  actual
  •  precise
  •  dull
  •  written
  •  accurate
  •  on the button
  •  letter
  •  genuine
  •  objective
  •  unexaggerated
  •  unadulterated
  •  explicit
  •  conscientious
  •  unerring
  •  punctilious
  •  factual
  •  unembellished
  •  verbatim
  •  erratum
  •  misprint
  •  basic
  •  veracious
  •  usual
  •  exact
  •  real
  •  apparent
  •  word-for-word
  •  simple
  •  natural
  •  good
  •  pedantic
  •  faithful
  •  careful
  •  definite
  •  downright
  •  faultless
  •  honest
  •  truthful
  •  lexical
  •  clear-cut
  •  literatim
  •  rigorous
  •  direct
  •  textual
  •  letter-for-letter
  •  bare
  •  strict
  •  veritable
  •  pure
  •  phrasal
  •  plain
  •  unrhetorical
  •  boring
  •  right
  •  scrupulous
  •  unimaginative
  •  close
  •  matter-of-fact
  •  narrower
  •  perfect
  •  mistake
  •  verbal
  •  valid
  •  just
  •  ordinary
  •  typo
  •  typographical error
  •  veridical
  •  prosaic
  •  rigid

The word literal also has a number of antonyms, or opposite words. These words have the opposite definition as the word spectrum. Learning antonyms is another quick and easy way to expand your English language vocabulary. This list of antonyms of literal is also provided by Power Thesaurus. 

  •  imaginary
  •  disorganized
  •  fishy
  •  guileful
  •  erroneous
  •  imprecise
  •  metaphorical
  •  faked
  •  concocted
  •  fabricated
  •  forged
  •  dissembling
  •  ambiguous
  •  deceiving
  •  fictitious
  •  analogical
  •  artificial
  •  iffy
  •  mistaken
  •  allegoric
  •  bogus
  •  inexact
  •  indefinite
  •  hollow
  •  duplicitous
  •  amorphous
  •  coloured
  •  surreal
  •  fuzzy
  •  wrong
  •  biased
  •  deceitful
  •  untruthful
  •  romantic
  •  exaggerated
  •  counterfactual
  •  dissimulating
  •  corrupt
  •  in error
  •  approximate
  •  anomalous
  •  corrupted
  •  imperfect
  •  inexistent
  •  inequitable
  •  colored
  •  dishonest
  •  imaginative
  •  counterfeit
  •  allegorical
  •  not close
  •  illogical
  •  abnormal
  •  nonliteral
  •  distorted
  •  incorrect
  •  dodgy
  •  improper
  •  fanciful
  •  hypothetical
  •  invalid
  •  specious
  •  unreliable
  •  factitious
  •  inaccurate
  •  conjectural
  •  cooked-up
  •  indirect
  •  atypical
  •  unsound
  •  figural
  •  deviant
  •  ideal
  •  invented
  •  fantastic
  •  fancy
  •  fallacious
  •  untrue
  •  inauthentic
  •  false
  •  aberrant
  •  apocryphal
  •  faulty
  •  fictional
  •  assuming
  •  extended
  •  loose
  •  tropical
  •  illegitimate
  •  inappropriate
  •  emblematic
  •  dicey
  •  careless
  •  flawed
  •  fake
  •  figurative
  •  defective
  •  incomplete
  •  fraudulent
  •  deceptive

What are other literary techniques and devices?

There are many different literary and grammatical techniques and devices that you might see when you are reading prose or poetry. It is important to recognize these devices because they are always used for some purpose. Knowing these devices can help readers understand the author’s deeper meaning and why they are using such a device. Take a look at the below list of literary devices from Reedsy and see how many you know! Then try researching ones that are unfamiliar to you. 

  •  Litotes
  •  Anachronism
  •  Juxtaposition
  •  Chiasmus
  •  Point of view
  •  Motif
  •  Tone
  •  Onomatopoeia
  •  Tragicomedy
  •  Colloquialism
  •  Isocolon
  •  Imagery
  •  Malapropism
  •  Soliloquy
  •  Allusion
  •  Euphemism
  •  Aphorism
  •  Foreshadowing
  •  Frame story
  •  Paradox
  •  Anastrophe
  •  Metonymy
  •  Repetition
  •  Anaphora
  •  Dramatic irony
  •  Archetype
  •  Zoomorphism
  •  Irony
  •  Metaphor
  •  Cumulative sentence
  •  Polysyndeton
  •  Flashback
  •  Satire
  •  Personification
  •  Simile
  •  Exposition
  •  Symbolism
  •  Anthropomorphism
  •  In Medias Res
  •  Synecdoche
  •  Allegory
  •  Tmesis
  •  Tautology
  •  Hypophora
  •  Oxymoron

Overall, the word literal means exactly as stated.

Sources:

  1. literal: meaning, origin, translation | Word Sense 
  2. Literary Devices | Reedsy
  3. Literal Meaning | Best 18 Definitions of Literal | Your Dictionary 
  4. Literal antonyms – 286 Opposites of Literal | Power Thesaurus 
  5. Literal synonyms – 743 Words and Phrases for Literal | Power Thesaurus 

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Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do’s and don’ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.

literal

taking words in their primary sense without metaphor or allegory: the literal meaning of a word; expressed by letters; actual, factual, truthful, exact, reliable

Not to be confused with:

littoral – pertaining to the shore of a lake, the sea, etc.; a region lying along a shore

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

lit·er·al

 (lĭt′ər-əl)

adj.

1. Conforming or limited to the simplest, nonfigurative, or most obvious meaning of a word or words.

2. Word for word; verbatim: a literal translation.

3. Avoiding exaggeration, metaphor, or embellishment; factual; prosaic: a literal description; a literal mind.

4. Consisting of, using, or expressed by letters: literal notation.

n. Computers

A letter or symbol that stands for itself as opposed to a feature, function, or entity associated with it in a programming language: $ can be a symbol that refers to the end of a line, but as a literal, it is a dollar sign.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin litterālis, of letters, from Latin littera, lītera, letter; see letter.]


lit′er·al·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

literal

(ˈlɪtərəl)

adj

1. in exact accordance with or limited to the primary or explicit meaning of a word or text

2. word for word

3. dull, factual, or prosaic

4. consisting of, concerning, or indicated by letters

5. true; actual

6. (Mathematics) maths containing or using coefficients and constants represented by letters: ax2 + b is a literal expression. Compare numerical3a

n

(Literary & Literary Critical Terms) Also called: literal error a misprint or misspelling in a text

[C14: from Late Latin litterālis concerning letters, from Latin littera letter]

ˈliteralness, literality n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

lit•er•al

(ˈlɪt ər əl)

adj.

1. in accordance with, involving, or being the primary or strict meaning of a word or words; not figurative or metaphorical.

2. following the words of the original very closely and exactly: a literal translation.

3. true to fact; unembellished; actual or factual: a literal description of conditions.

4. being actually such, without exaggeration or inaccuracy: the literal extermination of a city.

5. tending to construe words in the strict sense or in an unimaginative way.

6. of, pertaining to, or expressed by the letters of the alphabet.

7. affecting a letter or letters: a literal error.

n.

8. a typographical error, esp. involving a single letter.

[1350–1400; < Late Latin litterālis of letters. See letter, -al1]

lit′er•al•ness, n.

Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

literal

literaryliterate

1. ‘literal’

The literal meaning of a word is its most basic meaning.

She was older than I was, and not only in the literal sense.

The literal meaning of the Greek word hamartia, translated as sin, is ‘missing the mark’.

2. ‘literary’

Literary words and expressions are used to create a special effect in poems or novels, and are not usually used in ordinary speech or writing.

‘Awaken’ and ‘waken’ are old-fashioned or literary words.

Literary also means ‘connected with literature’.

literary critics.

literary magazines.

3. ‘literate’

A literate person is able to read and write.

Only half the children are literate.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun 1. literal - a mistake in printed matter resulting from mechanical failures of some kindliteral — a mistake in printed matter resulting from mechanical failures of some kind

erratum, literal error, misprint, typo, typographical error

mistake, error — part of a statement that is not correct; «the book was full of errors»

Adj. 1. literal - being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of somethingliteral — being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something; «her actual motive»; «a literal solitude like a desert»- G.K.Chesterton; «a genuine dilemma»

actual, genuine, real

true — consistent with fact or reality; not false; «the story is true»; «it is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatever for supposing it true»- B. Russell; «the true meaning of the statement»

2. literal — without interpretation or embellishment; «a literal depiction of the scene before him»

exact — marked by strict and particular and complete accordance with fact; «an exact mind»; «an exact copy»; «hit the exact center of the target»

3. literal — limited to the explicit meaning of a word or text; «a literal translation»

exact — marked by strict and particular and complete accordance with fact; «an exact mind»; «an exact copy»; «hit the exact center of the target»

unrhetorical — not rhetorical

figurative, nonliteral — (used of the meanings of words or text) not literal; using figures of speech; «figurative language»

4. literal — avoiding embellishment or exaggeration (used for emphasis); «it’s the literal truth»

plain — not elaborate or elaborated; simple; «plain food»; «stuck to the plain facts»; «a plain blue suit»; «a plain rectangular brick building»

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

literal

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

literal

adjective

Employing the very same words as another:

The American Heritage® Roget’s Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

حَرْفيحَرْفي الفَهْم أو التَّرْجَمَه

doslovnývěrnýčistý

bogstaveligordretrenskinbarlig

kirjaimellinensananmukainensanatarkka

bókstaflegurorîréttur

文字上の文字通り逐語的な

grynaspažodinispažodiškumaspažodžiuitiesiog

burtiskspareizsprecīzs

asılgerçekkelimesi kelimesinesözlük anlamı

Collins Spanish Dictionary — Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

literal

[ˈlɪtərəl] adj [sense, meaning, translation] → littéral(e)

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

literal

adj

(esp Typ) literal errorSchreib-/Tipp-/Druckfehler m

translation, meaning, sensewörtlich; in the literal sense (of the word)im wörtlichen Sinne

nSchreib-/Tipp-/Druckfehler m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

literal

[ˈlɪtrl]

1. adj (meaning, translation) → letterale; (account) → testuale; (person) → prosaico/a

2. n (Brit) (Typ) → refuso

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

literal

(ˈlitərəl) adjective

1. following the exact meaning with no exaggeration. the literal truth.

2. understanding the meaning by taking one word at a time. a literal translation.

ˈliteralness nounˈliterally adverb

We had literally a minute to catch the train.

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

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