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.
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Recent Examples of literally
In 1864, with the Civil War raging and the nation literally torn apart, Abraham Lincoln insisted on holding the election.
—
Aron Solomon
september 3, Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025
As if the landscape, literally and figuratively, hadn’t already been disrupted by the seismic shifts, and bedlam, of conference realignment — a force that in many ways rendered trivial what was most special about collegiate athletics.
—Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2025
The Bruichladdich distillery announced the details of its 16th Octomore series today, a whisky collection that literally takes smoky scotch to the next level.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 2 Sep. 2025
Most of the rooms, the bridge, the mess hall, hallways, they’re literally copied from the Nostromo.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for literally
Aron Solomon
september 3, Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025
As if the landscape, literally and figuratively, hadn’t already been disrupted by the seismic shifts, and bedlam, of conference realignment — a force that in many ways rendered trivial what was most special about collegiate athletics.
—Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2025
The Bruichladdich distillery announced the details of its 16th Octomore series today, a whisky collection that literally takes smoky scotch to the next level.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 2 Sep. 2025
Most of the rooms, the bridge, the mess hall, hallways, they’re literally copied from the Nostromo.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for literally
Recent Examples of Synonyms for literally
Adverb
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The authors note that not all artificial sweeteners were included in the study and diet information reported by the participants may not have been remembered 100 percent accurately.—
Hannah Millington,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
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There’s a recent study from researchers at Salesforce that concluded most of today’s large language models (LLMs) cannot accurately perform customer relation management (CRM) tasks—a particularly ironic conclusion since Salesforce itself has been pushing AI agents to automate CRM processes.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
3 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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In the east, crews continued to build line between Wiseman Springs and Rancheria Creek, engaging the fire directly along its active edge where favorable.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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The New York Times in 2015 reported that hundreds of Colombian mercenaries had been sent to Yemen to fight against the Houthi rebels, hired directly — and in secret — by the UAE.—
Rebecca Johns,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
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Literally
A word that (literally) drives people nuts
Cite this Entry
“Literally.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/literally. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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