literal
literal is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 4 senses, and appears in Roget's Thesaurus (1911) with 40 related terms. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.
Definitions
- 1.Following the letter or exact words; not free. A middle course between the rigor of literal translations and the liberty of paraphrasts. Hooker.
- 2.Consisting of, or expressed by, letters. The literal notation of numbers was known to Europeans before the ciphers. Johnson.
- 3.Giving a strict or literal construction; unimaginative; matter-of fast; -- applied to persons. Literal contract (Law), contract of which the whole evidence is given in writing. Bouvier. -- Literal equation (Math.), an equation in which known quantities are expressed either wholly or in part by means of letters; -- distinguished from a numerical equation.
- 4.Literal meaning. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.
Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
Synonyms
Related terms (Roget's 1911)
- abecedarian
- abecedary
- abide
- acknowledge
- acknowledgment
- acquiescence
- acquit
- acquittal
- acquittance
- act
- adhere
- adhesion
- affix
- alphabet
- alphabetical
- anagram
- anagrammatism
- and
- artillery
- carry
- character
- christcross-row
- cipher
- cling
- compliance
- comply
- concordance
- concurrence
- conjugate
- consonant
- country
- delectus
- dental
- derivation
- derivative
- dial
- dictionary
- digraph
- diphthong
- discharge
Source: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911 edition (public domain, via Project Gutenberg eBook #10681).
Related questions
Reverse-dictionary questions
Definition-first questions whose answer is literal.
Sources
- Definitions: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
- Synonyms & antonyms: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911 edition (public domain, via Project Gutenberg eBook #10681).
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