literally vs figuratively
Definitions
adverb
- (intensifier before a figurative expression) without exaggeration
- in a literal sense
Examples
He literally danced his music into being, conducting his bass players, drummers and horn section with his hips.
So far, only a couple of the trees (literally two) have been found to be successful in fending off beetle attacks, using chemical and physical responses similar to those in lower-elevation tree species, such as lodgepole pine and Douglas fir.
It literally unlocks the prejudice of so many people, and emancipates them from the dungeon of partial judgment.
Definitions
adverb
- in a figurative sense
Examples
His escape meant that he had to be figuratively executed, with the result that the people, ideas, and culture associated with him were outlawed and destroyed in his stead.
This message, even when presented figuratively, uses extra linguistic referents to bring it in touch with the reality around us.
The specter of death lingers over the entire film, both figuratively with Tommy Lee Jones as a corporate "axeman" sent to close down the show after one last performance and literally, in the form of Virginia Madsen's angel in a white trenchcoat, a noirish avatar of death who Altman credits as the "Dangerous Woman" even though she's given an actual name in the film.
