“I'm literally dying of embarrassment right now.”
Semantic shift Entry 233 / 1011 60-second read
Literally (Misused)
'Literally' means actually, in reality. It's misused constantly as an intensifier when something is figurative.
The comparisoni
“I was so embarrassed — I wanted to disappear. (if figurative) / The patient is literally dying. (if actual)”
More examplesii
01
I literally have a million things to do.
I have so much to do — I'm overwhelmed.
The ruleiii
¶
'Literally' means it actually happened in reality.
Using 'literally' for emphasis has become so common it's accepted in informal speech, but in formal writing it creates contradiction.
Memory aidiv
Remember it like this
If you can replace 'literally' with 'actually' and it still makes sense, you may be using it correctly. If not, drop it.