Literally vs figuratively
Use literally when the words are exactly true, even though they sound like a saying. Use figuratively to point out that words are a figure of speech, not fact. Most figures of speech need neither word.
literally adverb
Truly and exactly as the words say, even when they sound like a saying or a metaphor.
- The team literally missed the boat; it sailed at noon, an hour before they reached the dock.
- The old bridge literally fell to pieces in the flood, and chunks of it washed up a mile downstream.
figuratively adverb
In a way that uses words as an image or figure of speech, not in their exact sense.
- In the poem, the river is used figuratively to stand for the passing of time.
- Figuratively speaking, the company was bleeding money by the end of the quarter.
Watch out
- In casual speech, literally is often used just to make a statement stronger, even when the words are not meant exactly. Dictionaries record this as informal, but many people dislike it, so avoid it in careful writing.The phone has been literally ringing off the hook since the ad aired.
- Literally can point out a pun, showing that a saying is also true in its exact sense.After repairing the leaky roof, the contractor said his career had reached new heights — literally.
- In casual speech, literally is also used to stress how small or simple something is, a bit like just or only. This is informal.Don't worry about the paperwork; it's literally one page.
Test yourself
The firefighter blank walked through fire to save the dog; her boots were scorched when she came out.
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literally. Her boots were scorched, so she really did walk through flames.
When she says her boss bit her head off, she is speaking blank.
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figuratively. Bit her head off is a figure of speech. Nobody's head was really bitten.
In the song, a storm is used blank to stand for a painful breakup.
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figuratively. The storm is an image for something else, not a real storm.
The kitten blank climbed the walls: there were claw marks all the way up the wallpaper.
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literally. The claw marks show the kitten really climbed the walls, so the saying is exactly true.
Full entries: literallyfiguratively