01 a. According to the letter or verbal expression; real; not figurative or metaphorical; as, the literal meaning of a phrase.
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1.
According to the letter or verbal expression; real; not figurative or metaphorical; as, the literal meaning of a phrase.“It hath but one simple literal sense whose light the owls can not abide.” — Tyndale.
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2.
Following the letter or exact words; not free.“A middle course between the rigor of literal translations and the liberty of paraphrasts.” — Hooker.
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3.
Consisting of, or expressed by, letters.“The literal notation of numbers was known to Europeans before the ciphers.” — Johnson.
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4.
Giving a strict or literal construction; unimaginative; matter-of-fact; -- applied to persons.
Phrases & compounds
Literal contract —
a contract of which the whole evidence is given in writing.
Literal equation —
an equation in which known quantities are expressed either wholly or in part by means of letters; -- distinguished from a numerical equation.