literally
英 ['lɪt(ə)rəlɪ]
美 ['lɪtərəli]
- adv. 照字麵地；逐字地；不誇張地；正確地；簡直
英文詞源
- literally (adv.)
- 1530s, "in a literal sense," from literal + -ly (2). Erroneously used in reference to metaphors, hyperbole, etc., even by writers like Dryden and Pope, to indicate "what follows must be taken in the strongest admissible sense" (1680s), which is opposite to the word's real meaning and a long step down the path to the modern misuse of it.
We have come to such a pass with this emphasizer that where the truth would require us to insert with a strong expression 'not literally, of course, but in a manner of speaking', we do not hesitate to insert the very word we ought to be at pains to repudiate; ... such false coin makes honest traffic in words impossible. [Fowler, 1924]
雙語例句
- 1. Until next payday, I was literally without any money.
- 到下個發薪日前，我真的沒有一點兒錢了。
來自柯林斯例句
- 2. To see my body literally wither away before my eyes was exasperating.
- 眼見自己的身體日漸衰弱真是讓人心煩。
來自柯林斯例句
- 3. Windsor Castle is quite literally an antique treasure trove.
- 溫莎城堡確實是名副其實的古物寶藏。
來自柯林斯例句
- 4. If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.
- 如果把我們能做到的都做了，最終連我們自己都會被嚇到。
來自金山詞霸 每日一句
- 5. The event literally stopped the traffic.
- 這一事件幾乎讓交通陷於停頓。
來自柯林斯例句