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Sean Hou's answer in that Quora thread is the correct one. The word "literally" never means "figuratively" or "hyperbolically", but it can (like any other word

Sean Hou's answer in that Quora thread is the correct one. The word "literally" never means "figuratively" or "hyperbolically", but it can (like any other word) be used figuratively or hyperbolically. By analogy, someone can dishonestly say "Honestly, I didn't do it," when they did. This doesn't change the meaning of the word "honestly". There are no words in English that cannot be used in a lie, and neither are there any words that cannot be used in hyperbole or metaphor. You can, if you like, dislike hyperbole (I dislike dishonesty!) but there is no use worrying about the meaning of the word.

SquishyPanda23 5y ago
> The word "literally" never means "figuratively" or "hyperbolically" Yes it does. The dictionaries have added the second figurative meaning: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally
- voidmain 5y ago
  They are wrong. Native speakers just don't use definition 2 in a literal way. Maybe this usage will evolve (now that the dictionaries are wrong) but it doesn't explain any of the common usage.
  - nl 5y ago
    > Native speakers just don't use definition 2 in a literal way. Unclear if you meant some kind of irony by using "literal" here, but as a native English speaker I can assure you the second meaning ("used in an exaggerated way to emphasize a statement or description that is not literally true or possible") is frequently used. Try a twitter search for something like "literally turn the world upside down": https://twitter.com/search?q=literally%20turn%20the%20world%20upside%20down&src=typed_query https://twitter.com/search?q=literally%20turn%20the%20world%... Plenty of the people using it are native English speakers and (literally!) using the exact phrase in the dictionary in the way they describe.
    - voidmain 5y ago
      This usage is indeed very common, but it is always meant and understood hyperbolically, and the meaning of the word relied on by the hyperbole is just M-W's sense 1. To see this, remove the word "literally" from such a sentence. You are generally left with a statement that is still hyperbole or metaphor and not literally true. Which word are you going to redefine in a sentence like "It turned the world upside down." to enable you to interpret it literally? If you understand it as hyperbole, why does adding the word "literally" require any special meaning for that word? Conversely, if you believe that the word "literally" literally can mean "not literally", in the same way that, say, "cleave" is an auto-antonym, it would authorize statements like (*) When you use metaphor, you are speaking literally. (*) What I said was the plain truth, but John took it literally. which I think you will agree are not standard usage. Moreover, if you replace the word "literally" in a sentence like "It literally turned the world upside down." with something that means "not literally", like "It figuratively turned the world upside down." it changes the meaning. The first sentence is hyperbole and the second is awkwardly literal. I understand the desire of lexicographers to document this usage, which is as you say common (and legitimate) and seems to confuse people, but it's just not a different meaning of the word.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
- playpause 5y ago
  The word ‘literally’ is often used figuratively. That is not the same thing as the word meaning ‘figuratively’ in those cases.

SquishyPanda23 5y ago

> The word "literally" never means "figuratively" or "hyperbolically" Yes it does. The dictionaries have added the second figurative meaning: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally

voidmain 5y ago
They are wrong. Native speakers just don't use definition 2 in a literal way. Maybe this usage will evolve (now that the dictionaries are wrong) but it doesn't explain any of the common usage.
- nl 5y ago
  > Native speakers just don't use definition 2 in a literal way. Unclear if you meant some kind of irony by using "literal" here, but as a native English speaker I can assure you the second meaning ("used in an exaggerated way to emphasize a statement or description that is not literally true or possible") is frequently used. Try a twitter search for something like "literally turn the world upside down": https://twitter.com/search?q=literally%20turn%20the%20world%20upside%20down&src=typed_query https://twitter.com/search?q=literally%20turn%20the%20world%... Plenty of the people using it are native English speakers and (literally!) using the exact phrase in the dictionary in the way they describe.
  - voidmain 5y ago
    This usage is indeed very common, but it is always meant and understood hyperbolically, and the meaning of the word relied on by the hyperbole is just M-W's sense 1. To see this, remove the word "literally" from such a sentence. You are generally left with a statement that is still hyperbole or metaphor and not literally true. Which word are you going to redefine in a sentence like "It turned the world upside down." to enable you to interpret it literally? If you understand it as hyperbole, why does adding the word "literally" require any special meaning for that word? Conversely, if you believe that the word "literally" literally can mean "not literally", in the same way that, say, "cleave" is an auto-antonym, it would authorize statements like (*) When you use metaphor, you are speaking literally. (*) What I said was the plain truth, but John took it literally. which I think you will agree are not standard usage. Moreover, if you replace the word "literally" in a sentence like "It literally turned the world upside down." with something that means "not literally", like "It figuratively turned the world upside down." it changes the meaning. The first sentence is hyperbole and the second is awkwardly literal. I understand the desire of lexicographers to document this usage, which is as you say common (and legitimate) and seems to confuse people, but it's just not a different meaning of the word.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
playpause 5y ago
The word ‘literally’ is often used figuratively. That is not the same thing as the word meaning ‘figuratively’ in those cases.