Eh.., I'll put in the Urban Dictionary's definition, for reference:<p>literally : used to describe something that actually happens or exists. A much misused adverb, often for emphasis. People often confuse this word with figuratively.<p>"I literally died of embarrassment."<p>"Really? How was reincarnation, you illiterate dipshit?"
When I literally want to use the word "literally" literally, I will now say "non-figuratively", as in "I non-figuratively cannot believe it's come to this."
This is not at all surprising. Other online dictionaries list both definitions as well, on the ground that a dictionary's purpose is to dispassionately report how people use words, not try to be consistent when people aren't consistent.
The misuse of the term seems to date back three centuries, and has been abused for literary effect by many notable authors, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mark Twain, Jane Austin and Luisa May Alcott. So it seems perfectly acceptable to use the second definition with a wink, casually letting your audience know you know they know.<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/reality-check-with-polly-curtis/2012/mar/12/reality-check-literally-wrong-use-word" rel="nofollow">http://www.theguardian.com/politics/reality-check-with-polly...</a>
On my way home yesterday, I thought I'd invent a new natural language.<p>The definition of what is valid, legal would be simple: if 80% of English speaking population understands it, then it's legal. So typos and stuff like this would not be considered a mistake. THere fore the FolloWing wouldz bee valid alsoo.<p>But then I'd have to define what it means to speak English, which would require a lot of complex rules, etc. Then I thought it would be pointless, as it wouldn't matter if I wrote this down or not. People would still understand each other and go on about their lives.
This has been true of the word 'literally' for hundreds of years. People seem to have coped. Pedants have just become more vocal since the internet.