Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,530,295,496 visitors served.
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

literal
(redirected from literal-minded)

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.03 sec.
lit·er·al  (ltr-l)
adj.
1. Being in accordance with, conforming to, or upholding the exact or primary meaning of a word or words.
2. Word for word; verbatim: a literal translation.
3. Avoiding exaggeration, metaphor, or embellishment; factual; prosaic: a literal description; a literal mind.
4. Consisting of, using, or expressed by letters: literal notation.
5. Conforming or limited to the simplest, nonfigurative, or most obvious meaning of a word or words.
n. Computer Science
A letter or symbol that stands for itself as opposed to a feature, function, or entity associated with it in a programming language: $ can be a symbol that refers to the end of a line, but as a literal, it is a dollar sign.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin litterlis, of letters, from Latin littera, ltera, letter; see letter.]

liter·al·ness n.

literal
Adjective
1. in exact accordance with the explicit meaning of a word or text
2. word for word: a literal translation
3. dull or unimaginative: she's very, very literal and flat in how she interprets what she sees
4. true; actual
Noun
a misprint or misspelling in a text [Latin littera letter]
literally adv
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.literal - a mistake in printed matter resulting from mechanical failures of some kind
mistake, error - part of a statement that is not correct; "the book was full of errors"
Adj.1.literal - 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"
true - consistent with fact or reality; not false; "the story is true"; "it is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatever for supposing it true"- B. Russell; "the true meaning of the statement"
2.literal - without interpretation or embellishment; "a literal depiction of the scene before him"
exact - marked by strict and particular and complete accordance with fact; "an exact mind"; "an exact copy"; "hit the exact center of the target"
3.literal - limited to the explicit meaning of a word or text; "a literal translation"
exact - marked by strict and particular and complete accordance with fact; "an exact mind"; "an exact copy"; "hit the exact center of the target"
unrhetorical - not rhetorical
figurative, nonliteral - (used of the meanings of words or text) not literal; using figures of speech; "figurative language"
4.literal - avoiding embellishment or exaggeration (used for emphasis); "it's the literal truth"
plain - not elaborate or elaborated; simple; "plain food"; "stuck to the plain facts"; "a plain blue suit"; "a plain rectangular brick building"

literal
adjective 2. unimaginative, boring, dull, down-to-earth, matter-of-fact, factual, prosaic, colourless, uninspired, prosy
adjective 3. actual, real, true, simple, plain, genuine, gospel, bona fide, unvarnished, unexaggerated
Translations
literal [ˈlɪtərl] adjliteral

literal [ˈlɪtərl] adjlittéral(e)

literal [ˈlɪtərəl] adjwörtlich, eigentlich; [translation] → (wort)wörtlich

literal [ˈlɪtərl] adjletterale

literal
adj literal [ˈlitərəl]
1 following the exact meaning with no exaggeration the literal truth. letterlik حَرْفي дословен věrný, čistý bogstavelig; ren; skinbarlig buchstäblich κυριολεκτικός, που λέγεται χωρίς υπερβολή literal liialdamata معنی دقیق kirjaimellinen littéral, réel כִּפשוּטוֹ शाब्दिक doslovan a szó szoros értelmében vett sesungguhnya bókstaflegur letterale; puro 文字通りの 사실에 충실한 tikras, grynas precīzs; pareizs sebenar letterlijk bokstavelig dosłowny literal literal; adevărat буквальный čistý stvaren bukvalan bokstavlig, exakt ตามความหมายที่แท้จริงของคำ gerçek, asıl, sözlük anlamı 確實的﹐不誇張的 сухий الفاظ کو ان کے حقیقی معنی میں نہ کہ مجازا سمجھنا theo nghĩa đen
2 understanding the meaning by taking one word at a time a literal translation. woordelikse حَرْفي الفَهْم أو التَّرْجَمَه дословен doslovný ordret wörtlich κατά λέξη, σχολαστικός literal sõnasõnaline تحت اللفظی sanatarkka littéral מִילוּלִי एक-एक शब्द लेकर उसका मतलब समझना doslovan szó szerinti harfiah orðréttur letterale 逐語的の 원문에 충실한, 문자 그대로의 pažodinis, tiesioginis burtisks harfiah letterlijk ordrett dosłowny literal literal дословный doslovný dobeseden bukvalan ordagrann, bokstavstrogen ตามตัวอักษร kelimesi kelimesine 逐字的 буквальний, дослівний ایک ایک لفظ پر غور کرنا theo nghĩa của chữ
n literalness
letterlikheid حَرْفِيَّه дословност doslovnost bogstavelighed; skinbarlighed Festhalten an das Buchstaben κυριολεξία literalidad täpsus لغوی بودن kirjaimellisuus littéralité פְּשָׁט साक्षरता, सक्षरपन doslovnost szó szerinti volta vminek ketepatan e-ð bókstaflegt, það að taka e-ð bókstaflega l'essere letterale 文字通り 사실대로임, 문자 그대로임 pažodiškumas burtiskums harfiah letterlijkheid bokstavelighet, ordretthet dosłowność à letra literalitate буквальность doslovnosť dobesednost bukvalnost bokstavstrohet, ordagrannhet ความหมายตามตัวอักษร gerçeğe uygun olma 照字義 буквальність لفظی نوعیت sự theo nghĩa đen
adv literally
We had literally a minute to catch the train. letterlik حَرْفِيَّاً буквално doslova bogstaveligt buchstäblich κυριολεκτικά literalmente täpselt به طور تحت اللفظی kirjaimellisesti littéralement בְּלִי לְהָגזִים अक्षरश:, वस्तुत: doslovno szó szerint tepat bókstaflega letteralmente 文字通りに 문자 그대로, 정확히 tiesiog, pažodžiui burtiski secara harfiah letterlijk bokstavelig dosłownie literalmente literalmente буквально doslova dobesedno bukvalno bokstavligen, ordagrant อย่างแท้จริง gerçekten, hakikaten 確實地 буквально لفظی còn đúng


?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
I've heard a lot of neoconservatives and other literal-minded car huggers (``O'Goebbels'' on Fox News) compare this Iraq conflict to World War II, using outrageous analogies or even outright labeling it ``World War III.
The literal-minded may note that the building's sixth story isn't mentioned, though seven tales are indeed featured.
This is at times a rather literal-minded book, prone to over-simplification and even distortion when it ventures into (for example) Chartism, wages and working conditions, missing out on or under-using one or two important books (particularly Lyn Munqn's Popular leisure in the Lake Counties), and taking a few liberties with English place-names (the worst of which locates the Mendip Hills in Cheshire instead of Somerset, two hundred miles to the south).
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.