No, the same thing didn’t happen to terrible vs terrific. In the case of terrific, people actually inverted the meaning of the word and actually made it ambiguous, and now mostly use the inverted meaning.
People like to say that it happened to literally, but it actually never happened. It has not even SLIGHTLY happened, but people are trying to make it happen - nobody actually uses it that way.
The only context where literally is sometimes used to mean figuratively is during discussions about the word itself and the supposed shift in the meaning of the word
Literally has actually shifted to a filler word, or a placeholder for a curse word, but it has never shifted to mean non-literal.
What actually happened is that people think that if you say the word literally, the sentence can’t have figurative language in it. Which is just wrong. Plenty of people say “oh my god I actually fucking died” or “I honestly fucking died” “oh my god I DIED” or “bro I immediately DIED” and yet for some reason nobody claims that “actually” means “in the realm of fantasy” or “honestly” means “dishonestly” or “I” means “someone other than myself, clearly” or “immediately” means “at the ripe old age of 85”
And I mean dictionaries do not have entries for immediately that say “eventually” with footnotes about the shift in the English language because the editor heard someone claim to be “dead” while also being alive
It’s people misunderstanding what words are and how they work, and loading “literally” with way way too many expectations
Of course words shift. But if I said “left also means right, and that’s okay because the meaning of words shifts” it’s like no, people are not doing that. That hasn’t happened. I also hope it doesn’t get spoken into existence because people will die in car crashes a lot if it somehow actually happens.
The same thing happened to terrible vs terrific. Words used in ambiguous contexts can drift in meaning over time.
No, the same thing didn’t happen to terrible vs terrific. In the case of terrific, people actually inverted the meaning of the word and actually made it ambiguous, and now mostly use the inverted meaning.
People like to say that it happened to literally, but it actually never happened. It has not even SLIGHTLY happened, but people are trying to make it happen - nobody actually uses it that way.
The only context where literally is sometimes used to mean figuratively is during discussions about the word itself and the supposed shift in the meaning of the word
Literally has actually shifted to a filler word, or a placeholder for a curse word, but it has never shifted to mean non-literal.
What actually happened is that people think that if you say the word literally, the sentence can’t have figurative language in it. Which is just wrong. Plenty of people say “oh my god I actually fucking died” or “I honestly fucking died” “oh my god I DIED” or “bro I immediately DIED” and yet for some reason nobody claims that “actually” means “in the realm of fantasy” or “honestly” means “dishonestly” or “I” means “someone other than myself, clearly” or “immediately” means “at the ripe old age of 85”
And I mean dictionaries do not have entries for immediately that say “eventually” with footnotes about the shift in the English language because the editor heard someone claim to be “dead” while also being alive
It’s people misunderstanding what words are and how they work, and loading “literally” with way way too many expectations
Of course words shift. But if I said “left also means right, and that’s okay because the meaning of words shifts” it’s like no, people are not doing that. That hasn’t happened. I also hope it doesn’t get spoken into existence because people will die in car crashes a lot if it somehow actually happens.
Ok now I get you! It has become an intensifier, but it has not acquired new meanings.
Not exactly?
Exactly!
lmao check out ChatPPB’s comment @SerLava@hexbear.net
That fucking people smh