“I literally died when I saw the bill.”
Unless there were paramedics, you mean ‘figuratively’ — or just drop the word.
Usage Entry 14 / 1605 60-second read Common
Literally vs. Figuratively
Claiming something really happened versus using it as a turn of phrase.
The comparisoni
“I figuratively died when I saw the bill.”
Or better still: ‘I nearly choked when I saw the bill.’ The hyperbole is enough.
More examplesii
01
I literally couldn’t stop laughing for an hour.
I couldn’t stop laughing for nearly an hour.
Drop ‘literally’ unless you really mean non-stop. The sentence is usually stronger without it.
02
The building figuratively collapsed in the earthquake.
The building literally collapsed in the earthquake.
If it really fell down, ‘literally’ is the precise word — and ‘figuratively’ would be wrong.
The ruleiii
¶
LITERALLY = actually. FIGURATIVELY = as a figure of speech.
Use LITERALLY only when the event genuinely occurred. If it’s exaggeration, drop the word or switch to FIGURATIVELY.
Notesiv
Origin
From Latin *littera* — a letter of the alphabet. ‘Literally’ once meant ‘to the letter’ — word for word, strictly as written. The intensifier use (‘I literally died’) is documented from the 1700s, which is why dictionaries now list it alongside the original.
Register
Dictionaries have reluctantly added a ‘used for emphasis’ sense of ‘literally,’ reflecting spoken English. Edited writing still uses it in its precise sense.
Watch for
‘Literally’ as an intensifier (‘I literally died’) is the most mocked tic in modern English. If the sentence is already vivid, the word is empty calories.
Memory aidv
Remember it like this
Sitcom characters from Chandler Bing to Sterling Archer turned ‘literally’ into a running joke precisely because they never use it literally. Say it only when you mean it.
In the wildvi
Real-world-style usage — how this looks in a sentence people would actually write.
- She was literally the last one off the plane — still buckling her bag as the crew started cleaning.
- I figuratively jumped out of my skin — figuratively, because my skin, of course, stayed put.
Spottedvii
Specimens from the editorial inbox — lines that did, in fact, get published.
“I literally died when I saw the bill.”
— A restaurant review, 2022 — the reviewer is, in fact, still very much alive
“The stadium was literally on fire last night.”
— A sports recap column, 2021 — the stadium was not, in fact, on fire
Test yourselfviii
Which sentence uses ‘literally’ correctly?
Quick duel 4 questions · ~30 seconds
Which is right?