What does literal mean?

Definitions for literal
ˈlɪt ər əllit·er·al

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word literal.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. misprint, erratum, typographical error, typo, literal error, literaladjective

    a mistake in printed matter resulting from mechanical failures of some kind

  2. actual, genuine, literal, realadjective

    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"

  3. literaladjective

    without interpretation or embellishment

    "a literal depiction of the scene before him"

  4. literaladjective

    limited to the explicit meaning of a word or text

    "a literal translation"

  5. literaladjective

    avoiding embellishment or exaggeration (used for emphasis)

    "it's the literal truth"

Wiktionary

  1. literalnoun

    A value, as opposed to an identifier, written into the source code of a computer program.

  2. literalnoun

    A propositional variable or the negation of a propositional variable.

  3. literaladjective

    Exactly as stated; read or understood without additional interpretation; according to the letter or verbal expression; real; not figurative or metaphorical.

    The literal translation is hands full of bananas but it means empty-handed.

  4. literaladjective

    Following the letter or exact words; not free; not taking liberties.

    A literal reading of the law would prohibit it, but that is clearly not the intent.

  5. literaladjective

    Consisting of, or expressed by, letters.

  6. Etymology: From literal, from litteralis, also literalis, from littera, litera; see letter.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. LITERALadjective

    Etymology: literal, French; litera, Latin.

    Through all the writings of the antient fathers, we see that the words, which were, do continue; the only difference is, that whereas before they had a literal, they now have a metaphorical use, and are as so many notes of remembrance unto us, that what they did signify in the letter, is accomplished in the truth. Richard Hooker, b. iv.

    A foundation, being primarily of use in architecture, hath no other literal notation but what belongs to it in relation to an house, or other building, nor figurative, but what is founded in that, and deduced from thence. Henry Hammond.

    The fittest for publick audience are such as, following a middle course between the rigour of literal translations and the liberty of paraphrasts, do with greater shortness and plainness deliver the meaning. Richard Hooker, b. v.

  2. Literalnoun

    Primitive or literal meaning.

    How dangerous it is in sensible things to use metaphorical expressions unto the people, and what absurd conceits they will swallow in their literals, an example we have in our profession. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errours, b. iv.

ChatGPT

  1. literal

    Literal is used to indicate that words, phrases, or statements are taken or interpreted exactly and directly, without any exaggeration, metaphor, or figure of speech. It refers to the most basic, concrete, or obvious meanings or interpretations of something.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Literaladjective

    according to the letter or verbal expression; real; not figurative or metaphorical; as, the literal meaning of a phrase

  2. Literaladjective

    following the letter or exact words; not free

  3. Literaladjective

    consisting of, or expressed by, letters

  4. Literaladjective

    giving a strict or literal construction; unimaginative; matter-of fast; -- applied to persons

  5. Literalnoun

    literal meaning

  6. Etymology: [F. litral, littral, L. litteralis, literalis, fr. littera, litera, a letter. See Letter.]

Wikidata

  1. Literal

    In mathematical logic, a literal is an atomic formula or its negation. The definition mostly appears in proof theory, e.g. in conjunctive normal form and the method of resolution. Literals can be divided into two types: ⁕A positive literal is just an atom. ⁕A negative literal is the negation of an atom. For a literal, the complementary literal is a literal corresponding to the negation of, we can write to denote the complementary literal of . More precisely, if then is and if then is . In the context of a formula in the conjunctive normal form, a literal is pure if the literal's complement does not appear in the formula.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Literal

    lit′ėr-al, adj. according to the letter: plain: not figurative or metaphorical: following the letter or exact meaning, word for word.—v.t. Lit′eralise.—ns. Lit′eraliser; Lit′eralism, strict adherence to the letter: interpretation that is merely verbal: (art) exact and unimaginative rendering of objects; Lit′eralist; Literal′ity.—adv. Lit′erally.—n. Lit′eralness. [Fr.,—L. literalislitera, a letter.]

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of literal in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of literal in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of literal in a Sentence

  1. Troy Sanders:

    We cloak it in metaphor -- instead of painting a very literal picture of the person sick in bed we have broader brush strokes and try to create some kind of fantastical environment that mimics that particular situation and within that fantastical environment you can change the circumstance and make them something more triumphant. if you are good friends someone, and you are with one another and have a very strong relationship I think it’s a wonderful and healthy thing to do to be supportive and be physically present and again turning all these emotions into something productive. Turning this darkness into something bright and positive or at least attempting to.

  2. Stacy Langton:

    I’m not anti-gay, I’m not trying to eliminate the LGBTQ book collection, it's literal pornography, that's the problem.

  3. Jessica Byrd:

    Black people have been saying for literal decades that we want a meaningful place inside of the national political dialogue, and meaningful means specific public policy solutions that meet the height of the need and the height of the problem, we have yet to have it in this country, on any side.

  4. Shaun Fletcher:

    We’re putting our athletes through a lot of painful literal and figurative hoops and hurdles with really no resolution at the end of it to tell them that this is the standard that is being set for competition, there needs to be a joint effort to determine the metric because athletics and institutions, they go off of metrics and standards that can be applied to the masses.

  5. Keira Riley:

    We had to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in a month's time, plus get the girl's passports and visa's during a pandemic, no less, which is a whole other story, we looked into Right to Try when we first were exploring options, but unfortunately it didn't cover what our situation needed, especially because we had so little time on our hands. It was a literal race against time to get Keira this treatment she needed before symptoms started occurring.

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Translations for literal

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"literal." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/literal>.

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