literal meaning
collocation in Englishmeaningsofliteralandmeaning
These words are often used together. Click on the links below to explore the meanings. Or,see other collocations withmeaning.
literal
adjective
uk/ˈlɪt.ər.əl/us/ˈlɪt̬.ɚ.əl/
The literal meaning of a word is its original, ...
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meaning
noun
uk/ˈmiː.nɪŋ/us/ˈmiː.nɪŋ/
The meaning of something is what it expresses ...
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(Definition ofliteralandmeaningfrom theCambridge English Dictionary© Cambridge University Press)
Examplesofliteral meaning
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
In law, it enables judges to implement the intent of legislation rather than itsliteralmeaning.
From theCambridge English Corpus
The choice of the filler shows that theliteralmeaningis recognized as inappropriate but nevertheless the global meaning of the story is not grasped.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Theliteralmeaningof the term prestidigitator is 'nimble-fingered', but its connotations extend to the idea of illusion, imposture, deception.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Not that he is ducking the more thorny problems thrown up by music, where imagery andliteralmeaningare much more elusive.
From theCambridge English Corpus
The patient is having to ' go beyond ' theliteralmeaningof his interlocutor's remarks and to understand what kind of response the interlocutor expects.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Theliteralmeaning, though contextually incompatible, is retained because it is conducive to the interpretation of the metaphor or idiom.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Yet one veryliteralmeaningof the text's afterlife, starting at the moment of its completion and publication, is its commercial success.
From theCambridge English Corpus
These other facts, they maintained, did not necessarily require adherence to theliteralmeaningof the text, or to the consensus of the tradition.
From theCambridge English Corpus
And as theliteralmeaningof the term space of tension implies, the political and social, but also physical and existential relationships are not incidental.
From theCambridge English Corpus
If, as in our null hypothesis, the information in the image is in the form of a symbolic description, then size has noliteralmeaning.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Accordingly, he shows how semantic mechanisms previously employed forliteralmeaningcan be extended to account for metaphorical meaning.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Sometimes, however, the speaker's intentions do not coincide withliteralmeaning; they go beyond or even contradict what the speaker says.
From theCambridge English Corpus
In contrast to the transitive constructions discussed above, these constructions make little reference to the verb'sliteralmeaning.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Such expressions would then have a much moreliteralmeaningand more lethal effect.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Beyond that, these rules also help us understand the lawmakers' intent when it is different from theliteralmeaning.
From theCambridge English Corpus
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
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