literally

I rise in opposition to the tag "auto-antonym" being applied to this word. Good sirs and madams, I ask you: can we in good conscience allow "literally" to mean "figuratively"?

Certainly the general public uses the word this way. And under most circumstances, I am all for following the general usage. In this case, though, I say that we must put up a fight. A fight, I tell you!

If "literally" no longer means "literally", then what shall we use in its place? And even if suitable substitutes can be found, why should we allow ourselves to lose a perfectly good word in the first place?

Fight the trend, good people. Refuse to define "literally" as "figuratively"! Posterity will thank you.

Actually v. figuratively.

I once heard a noted religious leader talk about people "literally kicking themselves out of the Church". Now that would be something to see!

I think people might actually mean "practically", though I have no insight as to how this mix-up could have happened.

http://literally.barelyfitz.com/

I dunno, seems like the whole point of the word literally is to make it clear that you're not using hyperbole. At least, that was its original purpose. I think, if you have to outright TELL someone you're exaggerating, maybe you should practice your exaggeration a little more. It should be obvious without the label.

When you use literally to mean figuratively, you are speaking hyperbolically.

I support the founding of a coalition to bring the much-neglected but much-needed word "figuratively" back into proper use.

No, you did not literally fly out of bed this morning.