Whoa, hold on, In a technical or scientific discussion, you don't want to rely on a dictionary. Dictionaries, contrary to common belief, do not define words --

Whoa, hold on, In a technical or scientific discussion, you don't want to rely on a dictionary. Dictionaries, contrary to common belief, do not define words -- instead, they dispassionately describe how people choose to use words. If a word use makes no sense, that doesn't matter as long as the use is widespread. This is why "literally" and "figuratively" are ... wait for it ... synonyms. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally 1. : in a literal sense or manner : actually <took the remark literally> <was literally insane> 2. : in effect : virtually <will literally turn the world upside down to combat cruelty or injustice — Norman Cousins> Read more here: http://arachnoid.com/wrong/index.html#Dictionary http://arachnoid.com/wrong/index.html#Dictionary > ... as I said, thought it was clear from context. Not in any kind of serious discussion, with pretensions of accuracy.