different between accurately vs literally

English

Etymology

accurate +? -ly

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?æk.j?.??t.li/, /?æk.j?.?t.li/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?æk.j?.??t.li/

Adverb

accurately (comparative more accurately, superlative most accurately)

1. In an accurate manner; exactly; precisely; without error or defect.

Synonyms

• exactly, precisely, slap bang; see also Thesaurus:exactly

Related terms

• accuracy

Translations

English

Alternative forms

• lit. (abbreviation)
• litterally (obsolete)

Etymology

From literal +? -ly.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?l?t???li/, /?l?t??li/, (colloquial) /?l?t??li/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?l?t???li/, [?l?.??.?.li]

Adverb

literally (comparative more literally, superlative most literally)

1. word for word; not figuratively; not as an idiom or metaphor

   Synonyms: actually, really; see also Thesaurus:actually

   Antonyms: figuratively, metaphorically, virtually
2. (degree, figuratively, proscribed, contranym) Used non-literally as an intensifier for figurative statements: virtually, so to speak (often considered incorrect; see usage notes)

   Synonym: virtually

   • 1993, Wayne W. Dyer, Real Magic, page 193:

     You literally become the ball in a tennis match, you become the report that you are working on […]

   • 2017, New Straits Times (Malaysia) 22 April, page 20:

     [O]ne can assume that the millions or billions of ringgit spent on the war against drugs have gone down the drain, literally.

3. (colloquial) Used to intensify or dramatize non-figurative statements.
4. (colloquial) Used as a generic downtoner: just, merely.

   Synonyms: merely; see also Thesaurus:merely

Usage notes

Literally is the opposite of figuratively and many authorities object to the use of literally as an intensifier for figurative statements. For example “you literally become the ball”, without any figurative sense, means actually transforming into a spherical object, which is clearly impossible. Rather, the speaker is using literally as an intensifier, to indicate that the metaphor is to be understood in the strongest possible sense. This type of usage is common in informal speech (“she was literally in floods of tears”) and is attested since 1769.

Translations