Communication Tip #76
Is this correct or incorrect usage? Chris had us literally cracking up.” “That sunset literally blew my mind.” “She was literally a limp dish rag after that run.”
(All three are incorrect.)
Literally means actually; without exaggeration or inaccuracy. So, eliminate the word literally and use it only to emphasize the truth—especially if that truth is usually conveyed as a cliché:
For example:
- “When John finished planting the moss, he literally had what he always wanted: a green thumb.”
“The miniature house in the museum was literally made of money.