Literal Definition of Literally.

Since English is my second language, I think and speak in literal terms, literally.  I followed this article for the longest time and I find it humorous.

‘Literally’ literally means what now?

 CNN Living (CNN) — This is going to give grammarians a headache, literalists a migraine and language nerds a nervous breakdown.

Alas, poor literally . . .

The definition of literally is no longer the literal definition of literally.

Gizmodo has discovered Google’s definition for literally includes this: “Used to acknowledge that something is not literally true but is used for emphasis or to express strong feeling.”

But it doesn’t end with Google.

Merriam-Wesbter and Cambridge dictionaries have also added the informal, non-literal definition.

This is just one string of comment started by: Westcoast GG.  From here,  it snowballed and created an epic comment.  Having read the comments, I don’t feel so bad with my English knowledge.

westcoastGG • 11 months ago
I literally hate this story.

Roscoe Chait westcoastGG
As an editor, the word I edit out of manuscripts the most is “literally.” Nobody knows what it means anymore and it is misused, abused, and otherwise mistreated. I recommend that whenever you are tempted to write the word “literally” that you write the word “snot” instead. Then edit it out.

s s Roscoe Chait • 11 months ago
To edit out, do you press ‘delete’ or ‘ekscape’?

Decided s s • 11 months ago
You axed a very good question, s s.

Duncan Decided • 2 months ago
Remember, “Ax” is arguably the original form of that verb, and “ask” is a later corruption.

Matt Decuir s s • 11 months ago
Supposably, I think you hit backspace.

GrizzlysGhost s s • 11 months ago
Irregardless, there are many ways to remove it.

Brenda Kaye Lester GrizzlysGhost • 11 months ago
My favorite nonstandard word. hahaha

Charles Hendrix GrizzlysGhost • 11 months ago
I don’t know if you were just making a joke or not but yoU butchered the use of the word irregardless. It’s just regardless in the instance you tried to use it.

Suzanne Myers Saylor Charles Hendrix • 11 months ago
I think she was literally trying to make a joke, but irregardless of that, she was answering a supposably great question someone axed about the use of the ekscape button. Hopefully that helped 🙂

Shannon Suzanne Myers Saylor • 11 months ago
Suzanne = winner!

stephgob Suzanne Myers Saylor • 11 months ago
I [literally] cringed through your entire post, hahaha!

Suzanne Myers Saylor stephgob • 11 months ago
It was like nails on a chalkboard in my brain just writing that!

Audra Hammer Ross Suzanne Myers Saylor • 10 months ago
When I read your comment, my brain automatically played it in a Staten Island accent. hehe

woodstock41 Suzanne Myers Saylor • 11 months ago
@Suzanne, if I was gay I’d fall in love with you…!

Suzanne Myers Saylor woodstock41 • 11 months ago
I feel so loved! literally! haha!!

Robert Babs Suzanne Myers Saylor • 11 months ago
Winner! 🙂

Robert Babs Suzanne Myers Saylor • 11 months ago
This is gold! 😀

Scott Walker Charles Hendrix • 11 months ago
Wow, way to not only miss the running joke entirely but also destroy the flow of the thread. You’re the best half-a-tard of the day.

Bertha Scott Walker • 11 months ago
Don’t call people that just because they missed the joke…only makes you look like a bully. 🙂

eBlimp Charles Hendrix • 11 months ago
Charles Hendrix, you capitalized U in “yoU”. This is an incorrect procedure. Only the first letter of certain words are typically capitalized, except in certain brand names, such as eBlimp.

Trust me, I’m the Doctor eBlimp • 11 months ago
Is it truly a “procedure” to spell words correctly?
I always imagined a “procedure” to be something like a “digital exam of the rectum” or a “colonoscopy”. You know, something like that.

sweetiepie Charles Hendrix • 11 months ago
Appariently, somebody didn’t get the joke 😉

Ryan Charles Hendrix • 10 months ago
The joke
You

Drew Sheaffer Charles Hendrix • 11 months ago
Yo don’t be so ignorent

Meg Hinley Charles Hendrix • 3 months ago
You are literally a joke-missing fuddy-duddy.

Austin Bennett GrizzlysGhost • 10 months ago
WIN!

ug s s • 11 months ago
It is all a mute point.

UndergroundGoddamnMonsters ug • 11 months ago
I think you misunderestimated the strength of feeling about this subject. Its important to write your word’s good.

Matt Decuir UndergroundGoddamnMonsters • 11 months ago
This thread is hilarious. Its literally the most epic thread I’ve ever read in the history of the Internet. I literally don’t think their is anything funnier then this.

Trust me, I’m the Doctor Matt Decuir • 11 months ago
There, not their. Unless you meant to misspell that word. In which case, never mind.

Matt Decuir Trust me, I’m the Doctor • 11 months ago
Of all the gaffes, misspellings, errors and misuses (you know, that go along with the running joke in this particular thread), THAT is the (only) one you pick up on?

Trust me, I’m the Doctor Matt Decuir • 11 months ago
Nope. I picked up on all of them. Like “then” instead of “than”.
etcetera

Michelle Skaflestad Trust me, I’m the Doctor • 10 months ago
Or, as someone I know likes to say – excedera.

Ryan Trust me, I’m the Doctor • 10 months ago
He mispelled and misused several words intentionally, but the only thing you picked up is “their”. Good job.
Get off the bandwagon of people who act like they are superior because they can pick out the difference between “their,” “there,” and “they’re.”

Trust me, I’m the Doctor UndergroundGoddamnMonsters• 11 months ago
Don’t you mean “right” instead of “write”? Aren’t only those who are misunderestimated from the extreme right?

GiGi UndergroundGoddamnMonsters • 11 months ago
Underground, this literally made me laugh out loud! Too Funny.

Trust me, I’m the Doctor ug • 11 months ago
Oh, that’s one of my favorites! I used to work with a woman who would consistently use “mute” instead of “moot”. I tried to correct her once and she complained to our boss. No good deed goes unpunished, I suppose, especially when you’re dealing with mor0ns.
She also used to say “conjugate” instead of “congregate”. Subsequently, there were several people gathered outside her door having sex without realizing it.

Joey ug • 6 months ago
ug- You mean a moo point. It’s like a cows opinion. It doesn’t matter.

carinaeletoile s s • 11 months ago
I pacifically told you that ekscape is not a word.

Lbcrow carinaeletoile • 11 months ago
I dedn’t axe your pinion! I think we both prove the point. Evolution of language is one thing, but the butchering and pandering to illiteracy is a completely different thing.

Bertha carinaeletoile • 11 months ago
Oh this is the best one of all, literally! NO I mean it…really!
Pacifically..Bahahah!

Alti Bertha • 11 months ago
For all intensive purposes, this is the best thread since ever. I’m glad that their are still people who aren’t illiteral.

Bruce Heerssen Alti • 10 months ago
For all in tents and porpoises…

Trust me, I’m the Doctor Alti • 11 months ago
Intensive purposes! Brilliant!

kivs Alti • 10 months ago
In factuality, the statics of non-illiteral people are improvising.

Scott Walker s s • 11 months ago
alot of people have axed this question.

frylock243 Scott Walker • 11 months ago
And some people have answered, but I haven’t noticed that it’s detoured any further responses.