In other words, all those annoying figurative ... Even Merriam seems a bit lukewarm on users who take too many liberties with “literally.” “Sense 2 is common and not at all new but has ...

By the late 16th century, though, “literal” began to be used not just in reference to a type of reading, but also as a way to emphasize that one wants one’s words to be taken literally.

For a party that often decries how Trump's words are taken too literally, it's a strange turn of events for them to now focus so intently on his exact words.

Trump’s defenders have chastised the media for taking the president-elect’s words literally ... to start a nuclear war if they pushed him too far. “I think Nixon proved it’s not a very ...