Synonyms of literally

literally

adverb

as in accurately

in a literal, true, or accurate way

She is not one for hyperbole—all of her warnings should be taken literally.

The employees took the CEO's remarks literally and rightfully worried about the future health of the company.

Related Words

• accurately
• directly
• positively
• actually
• precisely
• genuinely
• really
• verbatim
• truly
• simply
• veritably
• just
• word for word
• right
• authentically
• exactly
• squarely
• certifiably
• sharp
• identically
• ad verbum
• smack-dab

Dissimilar Words

• freely
• loosely
• carelessly
• inaccurately
• metaphorically
• imprecisely
• inexactly

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of literally

But there was one thing that united all of them, across their different creative disciplines, and that was the importance of (sometimes quite literally) climbing hilltops to create a sense of authentic surprise. — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 31 Oct. 2026

On October 24, the famous momager, 70, was spotted — literally — in Rome in one of her fiercest looks yet. — Alyssa Grabinski, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2026

While political candidates all over the country have paid lip service to issues of affordability, here in Florida, the question of how to make life more affordable is literally on the ballot. — Marissa J. Lang, NPR, 30 Oct. 2026

Heather’s mad that Tamra is the one who started the conversation, but Heather literally said the thing that Gina’s mad about. — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026

Video

Literally

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to Ask the Editor. I'm Emily Brewster, an associate editor at Merriam Webster.
 
A thrill went through the packed court literally electrifying everybody.
So writes James Joyce in Ulysses.
 
No, the thrill described in that quote is not one specially equipped with an electrical charge. Joyce is using the word literally to mean in effect or virtually. Many people object to this extended use of literally, but Joyce isn't alone in employing it.
 
Charlotte Bronte and Louisa May Alcott used it.
So did Mark Twain and Willa Cather.
Also Vladimir Nabokov and David Foster Wallace.
 
One might say that literature is, (clearing throat) literally riddled with it.
 
Charles Dickens was a pioneer of the use. In Nicholas Nickleby he writes that one character literally feasted his eyes in silence upon another, but the evolution of this use began much earlier.
 
John Dryden complained that his daily bread is literally implored.
 
Alexander Pope commented everyday with me is literally another yesterday for it is exactly the same.
 
In these instances the adverb adds emphasis to the word or phrase that follows it, that word or phrase being intended in a literal sense. Dickens merely placed the same intensifier in front of a figurative phrase that can't be taken literally. The result, pure hyperbole, which is a legitimate literary tool.
 
Does this mean that you should use literally this way? Maybe, but remember that hyperbole requires care in handling and that your audience may not recognize it for what it is.
 
You can tell someone that you literally devour novels and that your kids were literally bouncing off the walls, but be prepared for your listener to refuse to lend you books and to be curious about the composition of your offspring.
 
For more from our Ask the Editor series visit merriam-webster.com.