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[ adverb ] in a literal sense
Examples "literally translated" "he said so literally" Used in print (High Fidelity, 11:10...)The Presto ma_non_assai of the first trio of the scherzo is taken literally and may shock you , as the real Allegro_con_spirito of the finale is likely to bring you to your feet . (J. H. Hexter, "Thomas More: On the Margins...)The apostolic community was literally an elite : chosen by Christ himself . (Clement Greenberg, "Collage" in his Art and...)This he did by using utterly literal means to carry the forward push of the collage ( and of Cubism in_general ) literally into the literal space in_front of the picture_plane . (W. E. B. DuBois, Worlds of Color....)Literally , there was nothing else to do . Related terms |
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[ adverb ] (intensifier before a figurative expression) without exaggeration
Synonyms Examples "our eyes were literally pinned to TV during the Gulf war" Used in print (Philip Reaves, "Who Rules the Marriage Bed?"...)Family survival on our own Western frontier , for_example , could quite literally depend_on a man 's strength and ability to bring_home_the_bacon ; and the dependent wife seldom questioned his judgment about anything , including the marriage bed . Wives of the period shamefacedly thought_of themselves as `` used '' by their husbands - and , history indicates , they often quite literally were . (William C. Smith, "Why Fear Ideas?"...)In the 1930 's , cures for the depression literally flooded Washington . Related terms |
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