literal interpretation
Taking words plainly
A literal interpretation takes words at their face value, understanding them exactly as stated without reading in metaphor, symbolism, or hidden meaning.
The phrase appears most often in discussions of religious texts, legal documents, and constitutional law: a literal interpretation of the Second Amendment.
Contrasts with figurative, symbolic, or loose interpretation.
- denotationWord's explicit dictionary meaning
- plain meaningDirect, straightforward interpretation
- chapter and verseExact documented source details
- semanticsStudy of linguistic meaning
- objectivityFreedom from personal bias
positivism · realism · contract law · grammar · etymology · originalism · by the book · syntax · black and white · lexicon · empiricism · user manuals · face value · surface meaning · word for word · pragmatics · dead metaphor · technical writing
- interpretationtranslation, translating, construing, rendition, meaning
- Antiochene theology
- biblical studieshistorical criticism, scriptural study, biblical narratives, Hebrew Bible, textual analysis
- Dispensationalismdispensations, Darby, rapture, tribulation, futurism
- exegesisbiblical commentary, typology, marginal notes, lemma, textual analysis
- legal formalismtextualism, originalism, textual analysis
literal interpretationreading between the lines
implied meaning · subtext · hidden meaning · deeper meaning · double meaning
literal interpretationdemythologization
Removing supernatural from narratives
literal, literally, literalness, literalism, literalist, literate, literacy, illiterate, illiteracy