- in accordance with, involving, or being the primary or strict meaning of the word or words; not figurative or metaphorical: the literal meaning of a word.
- following the words of the original very closely and exactly: a literal translation of Goethe.
- true to fact; not exaggerated; actual or factual: a literal description of conditions.
- being actually such, without exaggeration or inaccuracy: the literal extermination of a city.
- (of persons) tending to construe words in the strict sense or in an unimaginative way; matter-of-fact; prosaic.
- of or relating to the letters of the alphabet.
- of the nature of letters.
- expressed by letters.
- affecting a letter or letters: a literal error.
- a typographical error, especially involving a single letter.
- in exact accordance with or limited to the primary or explicit meaning of a word or text
- word for word
- dull, factual, or prosaic
- consisting of, concerning, or indicated by letters
- true; actual
- containing or using coefficients and constants represented by letters: ax² + b is a literal expression
- a misprint or misspelling in a text
