literal

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“
The severely literal Aquila renders the Hebrew word [Greek: neanis].

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Definitions (22)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (6)

  1. adjective Being in accordance with, conforming to, or upholding the exact or primary meaning of a word or words.
  2. adjective Word for word; verbatim: a literal translation.
  3. adjective Avoiding exaggeration, metaphor, or embellishment; factual; prosaic: a literal description; a literal mind.
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Examples (42)

  • : Third, the one about the OECs taking it less literal is a bit different, because at least some OECs '' do '' claim to take the account literally. —  Conservapedia - Recent changes [en]
  • Exhibits portray what founder Ken Ham describes as a literal interpretation of the Bible's creation account, or specifically, young Earth creationism. —  WORLDMag.com
  • Mark recalled a literal sink-or-swim situation that he was subjected to as a child that was a psychologically scarring incident. —  MousePlanet
  • We follow three men who have been commissioned by the South Korean government to study the roadkill on three roads, part of a nexus that surrounds the Jiri Mountains to the point of making this region a literal island for the ecosystem that resides within the manmade borders. —  GreenCine Daily
  • Interiorized spaces contrast against vast expanses of nature (both literal, and simulated as when Farrel (Juan Fernandez) eats a meal in a restaurant whose murals are an autumnal birchwood forest). —  The Evening Class
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin litterālis, of letters, from Latin littera, lītera, letter; see letter.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Old French literal, French littéral = Spanish literal = Portuguese litteral = Italian litterale, letterale, from Late Latin litteralis, literalis, of or belonging to letters or to writing, from Latin littera, litera, a letter, litteræ, literæ, letters: see letter, n.
 

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/ˈlɪtərəl/
by American Heritage

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