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
Ideal for hot sleepers, these sheets literally always feel cold to the touch with a buttery-soft feel so silky that the sheet might even feel a little slippery.
—
Jasmine Gomez, Travel + Leisure, 16 Feb. 2026
Sometimes, Veloso did that literally, by bringing the camera in close to the characters.
—Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2026
Lyman recalled a massive weekend in Long Beach with 80,000 attendees that resulted in only one arrest—a drunk fan who took Ice-T’s lyrics too literally and started shouting at the police.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2026
Given the cafe’s instant success, more Angelenos could be opening their own micro-restaurants soon, meaning the new hottest place to hang out could literally be in your own backyard.
—Jennifer Liu, CNBC, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for literally
Jasmine Gomez, Travel + Leisure, 16 Feb. 2026
Sometimes, Veloso did that literally, by bringing the camera in close to the characters.
—Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2026
Lyman recalled a massive weekend in Long Beach with 80,000 attendees that resulted in only one arrest—a drunk fan who took Ice-T’s lyrics too literally and started shouting at the police.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2026
Given the cafe’s instant success, more Angelenos could be opening their own micro-restaurants soon, meaning the new hottest place to hang out could literally be in your own backyard.
—Jennifer Liu, CNBC, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for literally
Recent Examples of Synonyms for literally
Adverb
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But these tests may not always accurately predict who will and won’t develop Alzheimer’s, experts say.—
Tanya Lewis,
Scientific American,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Jose's family members have raised concerns the severity of the charge doesn't accurately reflect the loss of life.—
Claudia Levens,
jsonline.com,
19 Feb. 2026
Adverb
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All four returning astronauts went directly to the hospital after splashing down in the Pacific near San Diego.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Feb. 2026
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These models from China are directly competing with video generation models such as OpenAI's Sora, as well as robotics models from Nvidia and Google.—
Arjun Kharpal,
CNBC,
14 Feb. 2026
Video
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 20 Feb. 2026.
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