Metaphorically vs. Literally

(manner) In a metaphoric manner; not literally; by means of metaphor.

Example: ‘He conveyed his teachings metaphorically.’;

Used to draw attention that what follows is a metaphor, not to be taken literally

Example: ‘Metaphorically, he was crushed.’;

in a metaphorical manner;

Example: ‘she expressed herself metaphorically’;

(speech act) word for word; not figuratively; not as an idiom or metaphor

Example: ‘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.’;

Used non-literally as an intensifier for figurative statements: virtually, so to speak (often considered incorrect; see usage notes)

Example: ‘He was so surprised, he literally jumped twenty feet in the air.’;

(colloquial) Used as a generic downtoner: just, merely.

Example: ‘You literally put it in the microwave for five minutes and it's done.’;

According to the primary and natural import of words; not figuratively; as, a man and his wife can not be literally one flesh.

With close adherence to words; word by word.

Example: ‘So wild and ungovernable a poet can not be translated literally.’;

in a literal sense;

Example: ‘literally translated’; ‘he said so literally’;

(intensifier before a figurative expression) without exaggeration;

Example: ‘our eyes were literally pinned to TV during the Gulf war’;

in a literal manner or sense; exactly

Example: ‘the driver took it literally when asked to go straight over the roundabout’; ‘tiramisu, literally translated ‘pull-me-up’’;

used for emphasis while not being literally true

Example: ‘I was literally blown away by the response I got’;