literally是什么意思

literally

英 ['l?t(?)r?l?] 美 ['l?t?r?li]

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]

1. Until next payday, I was literally without any money.: 到下個發(fā)薪日前，我真的沒有一點(diǎn)兒錢了。

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。

3. Windsor Castle is quite literally an antique treasure trove.: 溫莎城堡確實(shí)是名副其實(shí)的古物寶藏。

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。