Merriam-Webster has thrown in the towel and now says the word literally now means virtually or figuratively. So I could say Merriam-Webster has literally thrown in the towel, and not mean that the dictionary suddenly grew a pair of arms, threw a fluffy Turkish towel on the floor and stood dripping.
(Image courtesy Michelle Louring)
I like how CNN puts it – The definition of literally is no longer the literal definition of literally.
Purists have been crying over the misuse of literally for a long time now. I agree; if the road to hell is paved with adverbs, then literally is one of its worst potholes. Even worse than honestly or really. But language evolves (don’t listen to me, listen to Stephen Fry’s delightful tirade against grammar Nazis), words acquire new meanings and we can do nothing about it. Literally.
And if you’d like to see people tie themselves up in knots over ‘literally’, head here and here…