Literalism for Dummies
noun
pronunciation: 'lɪtərə,lɪzəmWhat does Literalism really mean?
Hey there! I'm really excited to explain what "literalism" means to you. Are you ready to dive in?
Imagine you're reading a story, and the words on the page are trying to tell you something. Sometimes, when we read or hear something, we can interpret it in different ways. That's where "literalism" comes in! Literalism means taking words or phrases exactly as they are written or spoken, without trying to find any hidden or deeper meanings.
Let me give you an example to make it easier to understand. Have you ever played a game of "Simon says"? In this game, when Simon says, "Touch your nose," you would literally touch your nose. But, if Simon says, "Jump up and down," you wouldn't start hopping all over the place, right? That's because you're taking the words "touch your nose" literally without trying to find any other meaning, but when you hear "jump up and down," you understand that it's just a fun way to say move your body energetically instead of actually jumping.
Now, let's explore another meaning of literalism. Sometimes, people use expressions or phrases that don't mean exactly what they say. Have you ever heard someone say, "It's raining cats and dogs"? Well, don't worry, no actual cats or dogs are falling from the sky! It's just a figurative way of saying that it's raining very heavily. But if someone takes this expression literally, they might start looking up for falling animals. So, literalism is also about understanding when a phrase or expression is figurative or symbolic, and not taking it word-for-word.
In summary, literalism means taking words exactly as they are written or spoken, without trying to find hidden meanings or understanding figurative expressions. So, in a way, it's like following the instructions of a game exactly as they're given, or understanding when someone is using words in a non-literal way. Did that make sense? Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help you!
Revised and Fact checked by Linda Miller on 2023-10-29 02:12:57
Literalism In a sentece
Learn how to use Literalism inside a sentece
- When someone takes every word in a story or a book exactly as it is written, without thinking about any hidden meanings or metaphors, that's literalism. Like if a person reads a fairy tale and believes that all the magical things in it are real.
- If a person follows the instructions of a recipe really strictly, without any changes or substitutions, they are showing literalism. Like if a recipe says to use 2 cups of flour and they measure exactly 2 cups and not a bit more or less.
- Some people believe that ancient religious texts like the Bible should be understood literally, meaning they believe every single event and story in the text actually happened exactly as described. That kind of belief is called literalism.
- In a debate or argument, if someone only pays attention to the exact words that the other person says, without considering any underlying message or intention, they are practicing literalism. Like if someone says 'It's raining cats and dogs' and the person takes it literally and starts looking for cats and dogs falling from the sky.
- Imagine reading a novel and instead of interpreting the emotions and thoughts of the characters, you only focus on the literal descriptions of their physical appearances. That's taking literalism to an extreme, where you ignore the deeper meaning and only focus on surface-level details.
Literalism Hypernyms
Words that are more generic than the original word.