Since it’s widely accepted that the word “literally” can be used to add emphasis, we need another word that can be used when you want to make it clear that you really mean “literally” in the original sense.

  • CanIFishHere@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    arrow-down
    3
    ·
    12 hours ago

    It’s not just one word. You use the appropriate adjective for the sentence. It’s many words.

    Or just leave out words like literally as they do literally absolutely nothing.

    • howrar@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      12 hours ago

      Obviously, you use the word that expresses what you intend to express. The question is what that word would be when you want to express “literally” in the strict dictionary definition sense without ambiguity.

      • CanIFishHere@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        4 hours ago

        Give me an example where using the word literally makes the sentence clearer. For the most part using the word literally is entirely unnecessary, and provides no value.

        • howrar@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          45 minutes ago

          I don’t understand where this question is coming from. The premise of this question is that “literally” is ambiguous. That its meaning is unclear. How does an ambiguous word add clarity to a sentence?