literally

adverb7

1. •
   really, with nothing added to the truth or taken away from it

   • He's prone to exaggeration, so don't take what he says literally.
   • There are literally millions of individual pieces of space debris orbiting Earth.
2. •
   In a literal manner; exactly as stated, word for word.
3. •
   With phrasings that might normally be used or understood as figurative: truly; not figuratively; not as an idiom or metaphor.

   • When I saw on the news that there would be no school tomorrow because of the snowstorm, I literally jumped for joy, and hit my head on the ceiling fan.
   • I didn't have time to repair the wall, so I literally just papered over the cracks.
4. •
   Draws attention to a pun or other wordplay involving an idiom.

   • My daughter's pet rabbit had babies, and now we've literally got rabbits coming out of our ears.
5. •
   (informal) Used as a general intensifier or dramatiser, sometimes tending towards a meaningless filler.

   • I had no idea, so I was literally guessing.
   • I was literally having breakfast when she arrived.
6. •
   (nonstandard) Used as an intensifier with statements or terms that are in fact meant figuratively and not word for word as stated.

   • He was so surprised, he literally jumped twenty feet in the air.
   • On 9/11 people were literally glued to their TV sets.
7. •
   (informal) Used as a generic downtoner: just, merely.

   • It's not even hard⁠ to make—you literally just put it in the microwave for five minutes and it's done.
   • It won't take me long to get back, 'cause the store's literally two blocks away.