Is it ok to use? literally means “figurative”?
F. Scott Fitzgerald did just that (“He literally shines”). James Joyce (“Lily, the caretaker’s daughter, really ran away”), WM Thackeray (“I’m really witty with intelligence”), Charlotte Brontë (“she brought me to myself”) , and continues to literally choke me with her unbridled spirit”) and others of their kind.
“I’m literally on fire with intelligence.” William Makepeace Thackeray, Punch, October 30, 1847. The figurative use of ‘literal’ can be offensive, but it’s nothing new.
But the fact that Charles Dickens used literally figurative (“‘Pick him up’,’ said Squeers, after he’d literally closed his eyes, in silence, the culprit”) could not help but leave readers complaining about their definition I. We determine literally in two senses:
1) literally or the way : really 2) in fact : almost
Some of our readers are not happy about this. Here are some of the comments left at this entry:
Definition 2: the dictionary is literally wrong.
This is honestly the dumbest thing I’ve ever read.
I really can’t even.
Some people choose not to leave such comments on our website (perhaps they don’t want to hurt our feelings), but still want to express their dissatisfaction clearly. These people comment on other forums, as in this sample taken from a comment thread on dailykos.com:
Considering that Merriam-Webster has redefined “literal” to “figuratively”, I would take it literally.
Our poor language, figuratively, I’m about to pass.
Agreed! How are you [sic] agree to accept (I’m calling you crazy dictionary editors!) a word that means exactly the opposite? It’s unbelievably stupid.
Never trust anything but OED…
You can count on OEDs, but you might want to check their definitions first:
literally, adv. 1 C. Vulgar. Used to indicate that certain metaphorical or exaggerated expressions (often) will be understood in the strongest acceptable sense: “almost, as good as”; (also) “completely, completely, completely.” —Oxford English Dictionary3rd edition, September 2011
Aaargh! That doesn’t seem literal at all! The dark forces of “figurative-literalism” must have come to them, perhaps by blackmailing editors. Let’s see how some other current dictionaries define this word.
literally, adv. … 3.b. Used as an intro to a figurative expression. American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language5th edition, 2016
literally, adverb… 2. (enhanced) ⇒ literally thousands of people —Collins English Dictionary
Literally every modern dictionary includes a definition for the metaphorical or augmented meaning of the word. literally. Why do we hate English so much?
We do not.
There is no conspiracy by dictionaries to destroy our language. There’s not even a plot to loosen up the moral of our language and spoil it a little. However, there is a strong push among lexicographers to catalog the language as it is used, and there is ample evidence that literally have been used in this fashion for a very long time. All the dictionaries listed above also provide usage notes with definitions of literally, indicating that this meaning is widely accepted. We also included a note, which reads as follows:
Since some argue that meaning 2 is the opposite of meaning 1, it is often criticized as being misused. Instead, the use is pure exaggeration intended for emphasis, but it often occurs in contexts that do not require further emphasis.
If this feeling of literally is annoying, you don’t have to use it. If you don’t like hearing other people use it, you can continue to be annoyed. If you want to expand on your claim a bit and emphasize that the original meaning of literal meaning is the only appropriate way, go ahead (although, before doing this, you should be aware that this will restrict you from using literal meaning when you mean “of, relating to, or expressed in letters”).
The use of literally exaggeration or metaphor is not new—evidence of this use dates back to 1769. Its inclusion in the dictionary is not new either; entry for literally in our 1909 unabridged dictionary the word “is often used in exaggeration; like him literally flew.” We (and all the other “crazy dictionary editors”) included this definition for a very simple reason: a lot of people use it this way, and our entries are based on it. proof of use. Furthermore, the fact that so many people are writing angry letters is seen as a kind of circumstantial evidence, as it would be difficult for them to complain about this usage if it hadn’t become commonplace.
We understand that many people have chosen this particular issue as the problem that they choose to draw a line in the sand, on the grounds that a word should not mean a thing. And its opposite (which is quite common in English). But a living language is an ever-changing language; This change can be lovely, and it can be ugly. As lexicographers, we are tasked with identifying language, rather than evaluating it.
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
