Meaning of literally in English

literally

adverb

/ˈlɪt.ər.əl.i/ us

/ˈlɪt̬.ɚ.əl.i/

using the real or original meaning of a word or phrase:

They were responsible for literally millions of deaths.

We live literally just round the corner from her.

If you translate literally, you translate each word in a text separately, without looking at how the words are used together in a phrase or sentence:

Translations that are done too literally often don't flow well or don't sound natural.

informal

used to emphasize what you are saying:

He missed that kick literally by miles.

I was literally bowled over by the news.

informal

simply or just:

Then you literally cut the sausage down the middle.

More examplesFewer examples

He literally flew across the room.
I literally had a heart attack when I heard the news.
They were literally over the moon at the news.
She was literally tearing her hair out with grief.
He was literally millions of miles ahead of the other runners.

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General

(Definition of literally from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

literally | American Dictionary

literally

adverb

/ˈlɪt̬·ər·ə·li/

Add to word list Add to word list

[ not gradable ]

used for emphasizing how large or great an amount is:

There were literally hundreds of pages to read in the contract.

[ not gradable ]

Literally is also used to emphasize a statement and suggest that it is surprising:

I literally (= really) had no idea you and Sophie were coming.

(Definition of literally from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of literally

literally

Moreover, human individuals and institutions "invest," metaphorically, or even literally, in other individuals or institutions to enhance their own returns.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

For even if features of the world were literally represented in brains/ minds, these representations would not explain cognition.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The number of content elements are counted from here on; they do not have to occur literally.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It is very much in the nature of an epitaph, indeed almost literally so, as the first two lines of the poem make clear.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In this representation, the internal order of the self we saw above is disrupted as the self literally gravitates through attraction toward another.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In concert, these interactions may cause the foot of heavily infected cockles to be literally immobilized.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Stores, associations and family and village networks evolved to ensure the safe arrival of remittances and letters, literally from the destinations to the village.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The user's request may not express literally what the user wants to know.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In previous formulations of projection strictness analysis, the two forms of demand were confused (literally) by the lifting trick.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It does this both figuratively (by rekindling interest in it) and literally, by organising concerts, releasing records, distributing those releases and other merchandise.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Or perhaps there is a perfectly acceptable, philosophically respectable sense in which, quite literally, states have mental states.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The performer's hand is fully inside the glove and literally internal to it.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Personnel were being worked literally round the clock.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

On one hand, actual levels of trust are often so great that we cannot literally hold physicians to superhuman expectations.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

And the derived verb ch'oolanink - literally 'to heart someone' - refers to caring for, maintaining, or feeding another living entity.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of literally?

Translations of literally

in Chinese (Traditional)

確實地, 名副其實地, 逐字（翻譯）地…

Meaning of literally in English

literally | American Dictionary

Examples of literally

Translations of literally

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