literal
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literal
- /ˈlɪt(ə)ɹəl/
Sounds like littoral
Where it comes from
From Middle English literal, from Old French literal, from Late Latin litteralis or literalis (“of or pertaining to letters or to writing”), from Latin littera or litera (“a letter”). See letter.
adjective more literal · most literal · lit. · litteral
-
Exactly as stated; read or understood without interpretation; according to the letter; not figurative or metaphorical; following the letter or exact words; not taking liberties; etymonic rather than idiomatic.
The literal translation of Spanish irse al otro barrio is "to go to the other neighbourhood" but it means "to die".
Similar: verbatim, word-for-word
- Actual, real, physical. Mechanically, operating this hybrid vehicle is sort of a cross between driving a car and taming an animal, which means the movie treats the audience to the sight of a man (pretending to be a teenager) driving a literal monster truck in a field next to a woman (also pretending to be a teenager) ridin
- That which generally assumes that the plainest reading of a given text is correct but which allows for metaphor where context indicates it.
- Following the historical-grammatical method of biblical interpretation. It is most important to distinguish literalistic from literal interpretation. [...] ‘Literalistic’ interpretation is like word-for-word translation that yields the verbally exact or ‘formally equivalent’ versions but also runs the risk of overlooking the main (illocutionary) point. Literal interpret
- Consisting of, or expressed by, letters (of an alphabet); using literation. a literal equation
- Unimaginative; matter-of-fact; literal-minded.
- Used nonliterally as an intensifier. See literally for usage notes. Telemarketers are the literal worst.
- Misspelling of littoral
Opposite: figurative, free, metaphorical, nonliteral, illiteral
noun literals · lit. · litteral
-
A misprint (or occasionally a scribal error) that affects a letter.
Similar: typo
- An atomic formula (consisting of a propositional variable) or its negation.
-
A value, as opposed to an identifier, written into the source code of a computer program.
Similar: literal constant
- Misspelling of littoral
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: word-for-word, actual, exact, denotative, true, explicit, genuine, real, unembellished, typographical error, erratum, plain, misprint, typo, unrhetorical, literal error
adjective
Opposite: figurative, free, metaphorical, nonliteral, illiteral
Translations
Every language
adj exactly as stated; read or understood without interpretation
| Español | literal |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 逐語的な chikugoteki na |
| 中文 | 字面 zìmiàn |
| Português | literal |
| Français | littéral |
| Deutsch | wörtlich, buchstäblich |
| Italiano | letterale, alla lettera |
| Ελληνικά | κατά γράμμα katá grámma |
| Română | literală |
| Русский | буква́льный bukválʹnyj, досло́вный doslóvnyj |
| Tiếng Việt | nghĩa đen |
| العربية | لَفْظِيّ lafẓiyy, حَرْفِيّ ḥarfiyy |
| עברית | מילולי milulí |
adj following the letter or exact words, not taking liberties
| 日本語 | 文字通り mojidōri |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 逐字逐句 zhúzìzhújù |
| Português | literal |
| Français | littéral |
| Deutsch | buchstäblich |
| Italiano | letterale, alla lettera |
| Română | literală |
| Русский | то́чный tóčnyj, буква́льный bukválʹnyj, досло́вный doslóvnyj |
adj consisting of, or expressed by, letters
| 日本語 | 文字上の mojijō no |
|---|---|
| Français | épistolaire |
| Italiano | letterale |
| Română | literală |
| Русский | бу́квенный búkvennyj |
Talk about this word "literal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/literal. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. literal. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/literal "literal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/literal.Cite this
@misc{literal_2026,
title = {literal},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/literal},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
