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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

  • literalization noun
  • literalizer noun
  • unliteralized adjective

Etymology

Origin of literalize

First recorded in 1820–30; literal + -ize

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.