"literally"? Don't Use it Unless You Mean It!
Recently I read a website whose homepage began with the claim that their site is "literally a storehouse" of resources.
No, it's not.
When you use the word "literally", it means you are not using a word or phrase figuratively. In other words, you are not using a word or phrase symbolically, metaphorically, or to make an analogy. You cannot use a metaphor, such as by calling a website a storehouse, because you are using the word literally. Literally.
So the website I was looking at is not "literally a storehouse". The literal meaning of the word "storehouse" is a building or warehouse where things are stored. Since when is a website (literally) a building? It is the opposite of a building; a website is a virtual place, a figurative place... not a (excuse the pun) literal place.
When you use the word "literally" but you are not actually speaking in literal terms, all you do is tell your reader, "I'm about to make an exaggerated claim, so get ready to lose trust in me!" The moment you use "literally", especially when you are making a claim about how BIG or how WONDERFUL and AMAZING something is, you are calling into question your credibility. If you genuinely have "thousands of resources", then it's ok to say, "we have literally thousands of resources". But don't use the word "literally" when you are using a metaphor. For example, it would not be correct to say "it is literally raining cats and dogs" unless there really are actual, four-legged creatures falling from the sky! If you use the word incorrectly in this way, then if your reader is anything like I am, s/he will get so distracted with the mental image of cats and dogs falling from the sky that s/he will forget to read the rest of what you have to say.
So if you are going to use the word "literally", make sure you are using it correctly, otherwise you'll get caught in your exaggeration and lose the trust of your reader. Literally.
Related Tags: writing, article writing, grammar, essay writing, punctuation, academic writing
KN Singer writes about writing and about books at the site Writing Happily.
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