lit·er·al (l t r- 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 litter lis, of letters, from Latin littera, l tera, letter; see letter.]
lit er·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 | Noun | 1. | literal - a mistake in printed matter resulting from mechanical failures of some kindmistake, 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" 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" |
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