literal

UK: /ˈlɪt^ərəl/ US: /ˈlɪtərəl/ ,(lit′ər əl)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

lit•er•al /ˈlɪtərəl/   adj. 

1. being in accordance with the primary or strict meaning of a word or words;
   not figurative or metaphorical:
   a savior of his people in the literal sense.
2. following the words of the original exactly:
   a literal translation from Russian to English.
3. true to fact;
   without exaggeration:
   a literal description of the horrors of war.
4. tending to understand words in the strict sense or in an unimaginative way:
   He's so literal that he never knows when we're joking.

lit•er•al•ness, n. [uncountable] See -lit-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

lit•er•al  (lit′ər əl), adj. 

1. in accordance with, involving, or being the primary or strict meaning of the word or words;
   not figurative or metaphorical:
   the literal meaning of a word.
2. following the words of the original very closely and exactly:
   a literal translation of Goethe.
3. true to fact;
   not exaggerated;
   actual or factual:
   a literal description of conditions.
4. being actually such, without exaggeration or inaccuracy:
   the literal extermination of a city.
5. (of persons) tending to construe words in the strict sense or in an unimaginative way;
   matter-of-fact;
   prosaic.
6. of or pertaining to the letters of the alphabet.
7. of the nature of letters.
8. expressed by letters.
9. affecting a letter or letters:
   a literal error.

n. 

10. a typographical error, esp. involving a single letter.

• Late Latin litterālis of letters. See letter, al¹
• Middle English 1350–1400

lit′er•al•ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 3. truthful, exact, reliable.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

literal / ˈlɪtərəl/ adjective

1. in exact accordance with or limited to the primary or explicit meaning of a word or text
2. word for word
3. dull, factual, or prosaic
4. consisting of, concerning, or indicated by letters
5. true; actual

noun

1. Also called: literal error a misprint or misspelling in a text

Etymology: 14th Century: from Late Latin litterālis concerning letters, from Latin littera letter

ˈliteralness, literality / ˌlɪtəˈrælɪtɪ/ noun