literally

lit·er·al·ly  (ltr--l)

adv.

1. In a literal manner; word for word: translated the Greek passage literally.

2. In a literal or strict sense: Don't take my remarks literally.

3. Usage Problem

a. Really; actually: "There are people in the world who literally do not know how to boil water" (Craig Claiborne).

b. Used as an intensive before a figurative expression.

Usage Note: For more than a hundred years, critics have remarked on the incoherency of using literally in a way that suggests the exact opposite of its primary sense of "in a manner that accords with the literal sense of the words." In 1926, for example, H.W. Fowler cited the example "The 300,000 Unionists ... will be literally thrown to the wolves." The practice does not stem from a change in the meaning of literally itselfif it did, the word would long since have come to mean "virtually" or "figuratively"but from a natural tendency to use the word as a general intensive, as in They had literally no help from the government on the project, where no contrast with the figurative sense of the words is intended.

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literally [ˈlɪtərəlɪ]

adv

1. in a literal manner

2. (intensifier) there were literally thousands of people

Usage: The use of literally as an intensifier is common, esp in informal contexts. In some cases, it provides emphasis without adding to the meaning: the house was literally only five minutes walk away. Often, however, its use results in absurdity: the news was literally an eye-opener to me. It is therefore best avoided in formal contexts

Thesaurus

Adv.	1.	literally - in a literal sense; "literally translated"; "he said so literally" figuratively - in a figurative sense; "figuratively speaking,..."
	2.	literally - (intensifier before a figurative expression) without exaggeration; "our eyes were literally pinned to TV during the Gulf War" intensifier, intensive - a modifier that has little meaning except to intensify the meaning it modifies; "`up' in `finished up' is an intensifier"; "`honestly' in `I honestly don't know' is an intensifier"

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literally

adverb exactly, really, closely, actually, simply, plainly, truly, precisely, strictly, faithfully, to the letter, verbatim, word for word The word 'volk' translates literally as 'folk'.

Translations

literally [ˈlɪtərəlɪ] ADV

1. (= actually) → literalmente
I was quite literally living on bread and water → estaba literalmente viviendo a base de pan y agua
he's crazy, I mean literally → está loco, y lo digo en el verdadero sentido de la palabra
they were quite literally in fear of their lives → temían realmente por sus vidas
to take sth literally → tomarse algo al pie de la letra
she literally flew out the door (as intensifier) (= almost) → salió casi volando por la puerta

2. (= word for word) [translate, mean] → literalmente, palabra por palabra

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literally [ˈlɪt^ərəli] adv

(= absolutely) → littéralement
It was literally impossible to find a seat → Il était littéralement impossible de trouver une place., Il était vraiment impossible de trouver une place.
The views are literally breath-taking → Les panoramas sont littéralement à vous couper le souffle.

(= without exaggeration) → littéralement

[translate, understand] → littéralement
to translate literally [translator] → traduire littéralement; [word, phrase] → se traduire littéralement
The word "volk" translates literally as "folk" → Le mot "volk" se traduit littéralement par "folk".
to take sth literally [+ word, phrase] → prendre qch au sens littéral; [+ statement, story, instructions] → prendre qch à la lettre
a man who took his instructions literally → un homme qui prenait ses instructions à la lettre
to be taken literally → être pris(e) à la lettre

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literally

adv

(= word for word, exactly) → (wort)wörtlich; to take somebody/something literally → jdn/etw wörtlich nehmen; to be literally true → wortwörtlich stimmen

(= really) → buchstäblich, wirklich; the best meal I’ve ever had, literally → wirklich das Beste, was ich je gegessen habe; it was literally impossible to work there → es war wirklich or einfach unmöglich, dort zu arbeiten; I was literally shaking with fear → ich zitterte regelrecht vor Angst; he was quite literally a giant → er war im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes ein Riese

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literally [ˈlɪt/ərəlɪ] adv (gen) → letteralmente; (interpret) → alla lettera
it was literally impossible to work there → era letteralmente impossibile lavorare lì

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literally [ˈlɪt/ərəlɪ] adv (gen) → letteralmente; (interpret) → alla lettera
it was literally impossible to work there → era letteralmente impossibile lavorare lì

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literally → حرفياً doslova bogstavelig talt wörtlich κυριολεκτικά literalmente kirjaimellisesti littéralement doslovce letteralmente 文字どおりに 글자 그대로 letterlijk bokstavelig dosłownie literalmente буквально bokstavligen อย่างแท้จริง harfi harfine theo nghĩa đen 逐字地