- 1[usually before noun] being the most basic meaning of a word or phrase, rather than an extended or poetic meaning I am not referring to ‘small’ people in the literal sense of the word. The literal meaning of ‘petrify’ is ‘turn to stone’. compare figurative, metaphorical
- 2[usually before noun] that follows the original words exactly a literal translation compare free
- 3(disapproving) lacking imagination Her interpretation of the music was too literal. Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French, or from late Latin litteralis, from Latin littera ‘letter of the alphabet’, (plural) ‘epistle, literature, culture’.
Check pronunciation: literal
