literal

/ˈlɪɾərəl/

/ˈlɪtərəl/

Other forms: literals

To describe something as literal is to say that it is exactly what it seems to be. For example, if you put up a literal barrier to keep the world out, you've actually built a real wall.

The background of literal includes the Latin litterālis, meaning "of letters or writing." This led to the sense of exactness, suggesting something is "to the letter." Many people misuse this word, as in "Listening to that dull teacher put me in a literal coma." Possible, but highly doubtful.

Definitions of literal

1. adjective

   limited to the explicit meaning of a word or text
   “a literal translation”

   synonyms:

   exact

   marked by strict and particular and complete accordance with fact

   denotative, explicit

   in accordance with fact or the primary meaning of a term

   unrhetorical

   not rhetorical

   antonyms:

   figurative

   (used of the meanings of words or text) not literal; using figures of speech

   analogical

   expressing, composed of, or based on an analogy

   extended

   beyond the literal or primary sense

   metaphoric, metaphorical

   expressing one thing in terms normally denoting another

   metonymic, metonymical

   using the name of one thing for that of another with which it is closely associated

   poetic

   characterized by romantic imagery

   synecdochic, synecdochical

   using the name of a part for that of the whole or the whole for the part; or the special for the general or the general for the special; or the material for the thing made of it

   tropical

   characterized by or of the nature of a trope or tropes; changed from its literal sense

   rhetorical

   given to rhetoric, emphasizing style at the expense of thought
2. adjective

   without interpretation or embellishment
   “a literal depiction of the scene before him”

   synonyms:

   exact

   marked by strict and particular and complete accordance with fact
3. adjective

   avoiding embellishment or exaggeration (used for emphasis)
   “it's the literal truth”

   synonyms:

   plain

   not elaborate or elaborated; simple
4. adjective

   being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something
   “"a literal solitude like a desert"- G.K.Chesterton”

   synonyms: actual, genuine, real

   true

   consistent with fact or reality; not false
5. noun

   a mistake in printed matter resulting from mechanical failures of some kind
   synonyms: erratum, literal error, misprint, typo, typographical error

   type of:

   error, mistake

   part of a statement that is not correct