literally

Definition

Word for word, exactly as stated.

Etymology

From Middle English litteraly. See literal and letter. By surface analysis, literal + -ly.

Example Sentences

• "He's prone to exaggeration, so don't take what he says literally."
• "There are literally millions of individual pieces of space debris orbiting Earth."
• "When I saw on the news that there would be no school tomorrow because of the snowstorm, I literally jumped for joy, and hit my head on the ceiling fan."