I heard someone say ''literally amazing'' today and to me it sounded wrong.
I think the correct term for literally would be, if you said
''that guys got a big head, literally''
would mean his head physically is big, opposed to he has a big ego.
Plus would meaning he has a big ego be a metorphorical statement or otherwise?
So, my question, what's the correct use of the word literally and what's it's opposite, is it metorphorically or something else?
2007-09-20 21:43:41 · 3 answers · asked by Poza 3 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
The usual antonym to 'literally' is 'figuratively', as in a figure of speech.
Whereas literally means "exactly as it is written."
"I shat myself when Vinnie caught me kissing his girlfriend"
"I literally shat myself when Vinnie...."
Only one of those sentences should make you go 'Ewwww!'.
2007-09-20 22:16:21 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Literally is often misused to emphasise something. It means 'as it is written', in other words, exactly that. So you could not say 'He literally flew down the street' unless he actually did so in a plane. Your use of the 'big head' analogy is correct.
To use something metaphorically is to give a description of something or somebody when likening to it so you could describe, for example, a ferocious person by saying 'He's a real tiger when he's angry'.
2007-09-21 05:27:01 · answer #2 · answered by quatt47 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
You're basically right. I think "literally amazing" sounds wrong because it's ott. If something's amazing, that's good enough, isn't it?
2007-09-21 04:50:42 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋