Since it’s widely accepted that the word “literally” can be used to add emphasis, we need another word that can be used when you want to make it clear that you really mean “literally” in the original sense.

  • howrar@lemmy.ca
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    6 days ago

    I don’t understand where this question is coming from. The premise of this question is that “literally” is ambiguous. That its meaning is unclear. How does an ambiguous word add clarity to a sentence?

    • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.cafe
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      6 days ago

      There was a time when Literally was the word we used to eliminate ambiguity. Using it to mean the opposite of its originally intended, and accepted, definition injects ambiguity, the very thing the word is supposed to prevent.

      That’s literally an example of IRONY (another often wrongly used word).

      • howrar@lemmy.ca
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        6 days ago

        OP is asking how to solve a problem. You understand that repeating the problem does not answer the question, right?