literally_definition.jpg

A screenshot of Google search results shows the meaning of "literally" now includes the incorrect definition of when "something is not literally true but is used for emphasis."

(Google screenshot; red box emphasis added)

Grammar nerds and lovers of the English language are furious at the reminder that it's now acceptable to use the word "literally" incorrectly -- as in, it's literally in the dictionary.

Social media users have pointed out this week that Google search results for the definition of the word "literally" now include two meanings for the adverb: 1) In a literal manner or sense, exactly; and 2) Used to acknowledge that something is not literally true but is used for emphasis or to express strong feeling.

The Oxford English Dictionary has been in print for over a century, but its online version has become more popular as new words and definitions are added every year.

The latter definition, which has traditionally been viewed as wrong, is making heads literally explode everywhere. "We did it guys, we finally killed the English language," David Kenner, the Middle East editor for Foreign Policy magazine, jibed on Twitter Tuesday.

Google search results for dictionary definitions are aggregated from Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Answers.com and Merriam-Webster.

Back in March, The Week pointed out that Merriam-Webster had recently added a second usage of the word "literally" to mean the same as "virtually," but as hyperbole for emphasis. The Oxford English Dictionary has also included the informal definition, "used for emphasis while not being literally true," since 2011.

But while traditionalists are complaining about the demise of English, many are quick to say that language evolves over time and dictionaries reflect those changes.

"Our job is to describe the language people are using," OED senior editor Fiona McPherson said, according to the Daily Mail. "The only reason this sense is included is because people are using it the wrong way."

Modern terms that have been added to the dictionary in recent years include frenemy, flash mob, ZOMG, infographic, sexting, F-bomb, earworm, fist bump and bromance. New definitions for words like tweet (as in for Twitter, not birds) and cougar (as in Stifler's mom in "American Pie") have also been included.

Chivers points out that Louisa May Alcott wrote "the land literally flowed with milk and honey" in 1868's "Little Women," and Charles Dickens described a man's "body literally worn to the bone" in 1839's "Nicholas Nickleby." Other words have also changed meanings over time, such as "wicked," which used to only mean "evil" or "bad," and "fast," which used to mean "secure" like "steadfast."

Still, the Oxford dictionary insists the newer, informal definition "is not acceptable in formal contexts, though it is widespread." So don't literally put your fist through a window, guys.