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literally - definition and synonyms
 
 
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adverb literally pronunciation in British English /ˈlɪt(ə)rəli/
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  1. 1
    used for showing that what you are saying is really true and is not just an impressive way of describing something

    Now there are literally thousands of companies using our software.

    Synonyms and related words

    Ways of emphasizing that something is true or exact:

    actually, certainly, clearly...
    1. a.
      used when you are describing something in an extreme way that cannot be true

      When I told him the news he literally exploded.

      Synonyms and related words

      Ways of emphasizing completeness or extremeness:

      complete, completely, entire...
  2. 2
    in the most basic, obvious meanings of the words that are used

    There’s an Italian dessert called tiramisu, which literally means ‘pull me up’.

    take (=understand) something literally:

    Children take things literally when they hear them from a teacher.

    Synonyms and related words

    Words used to describe language:

    agglutinative, classical, cognate...
  3. 3
    if you translate something literally, you translate each word separately in a way that does not sound natural
    Synonyms and related words

    Speaking or translating other languages:

    bilingual, code switching, communicative competence...

This is the British English definition of literally. View American English definition of literally.

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View the pronunciation for literally.

 

conlang

… a language for human communication which has been invented and has not developed naturally

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spogs

spectacles; boiled sweets, candy; soft aniseed-flavoured jelly sweets coated with blue and pink sugar sprinkles

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