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What’s your thoughts about the term “literally”? It’s one of my bugbears, because the term lost its meaning and I don’t know of any good replacement…
by danielscrubs 4y ago
What’s your thoughts about the term “literally”? It’s one of my bugbears, because the term lost its meaning and I don’t know of any good replacement…
- quickthrower2 4y agoIt lost it’s meaning in as early as 1876 apparently so you can’t blame kids these days. But I don’t like its use as a hyperbolic no-op.
- abainbridge 4y ago> I don’t know of any good replacement… My Chambers dictionary suggests these alternatives: actually, really, absolutely. It also says, "literally is in common use to intensify an idiom, and this is not incorrect". My general rule is that usage defines meaning. If lots of people use literally as an idiom intensifier, then I'd be wrong to argue. However, my GCSE English teacher said that we need to consider the intended audience and form. Me saying, "They literally flew down the road" to my mates in the pub is fine. It is not fine in formal writing.
- svachalek 4y agoIt's just the latest in a long line of adverbs for truthfulness that morph into something else. "very" (from latin for true), "really" (from real), "honestly", "truly" and so on. "Actually" seems to still hold on to some meaning but is now on the verge of becoming socially unacceptable. I guess this says something about human nature.