English adjective: literal | |||
1. | literal being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something | ||
Samples | Her actual motive. A literal solitude like a desert. A genuine dilemma. | ||
Synonyms | actual, genuine, real | ||
Similar | true | ||
Antonyms | false | ||
2. | literal without interpretation or embellishment | ||
Samples | A literal depiction of the scene before him. | ||
Similar | exact | ||
Antonyms | inexact | ||
3. | literal limited to the explicit meaning of a word or text | ||
Samples | A literal translation. | ||
Similar | denotative, explicit | ||
See also | exact, unrhetorical | ||
Antonyms | figurative, nonliteral | ||
4. | literal avoiding embellishment or exaggeration (used for emphasis) | ||
Samples | It's the literal truth. | ||
Similar | plain | ||
Antonyms | fancy | ||
English noun: literal | |||
1. | literal (communication) a mistake in printed matter resulting from mechanical failures of some kind | ||
Synonyms | erratum, literal error, misprint, typo, typographical error | ||
Broader (hypernym) | error, mistake | ||