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literalize

American  
[lit-er-uh-lahyz] / ˈlɪt ər əˌlaɪz /
especially British, literalise

verb (used with object)

literalized, literalizing
  1. to make literal; interpret literally.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of literalize

First recorded in 1820–30; literal + -ize

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Or to literalize the notion that, duh, relationships can be scary?

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2023

Is it too much to expect that a show about the difficulty of deciding between the light and the dark would, I dunno, literalize that conflict with a swoony bad influence?

From Slate • Oct. 25, 2018

Movies and television have a way of using a soundtrack not just to create a mood but to literalize it.

From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2018

Something about Knott froze in childhood, leaving a body of work marked by the child’s tendency to literalize imaginative schemes.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 27, 2017

Whether we believe in literal fire or not, we certainly ought to ask for a reason for the Master's failure to literalize the figurative word "fire."

From The Great Doctrines of the Bible by Evans, William

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