literalized
Taken at face-value
Literalized describes something that has been made literal—taken from the abstract, figurative, or metaphorical and given concrete or physical form.
A film might show a character's inner demons as actual monsters, literalizing the metaphor.
The artist literalized the phrase "carrying the weight of the world" by sculpting a figure bent under a globe.
The word often appears in criticism discussing how texts or images render figurative language concrete.
Solid building mixture
- manifestClearly apparent or displayed
- materializeBecome physically present
- embodimentConcrete manifestation of idea
- actualizeMake concrete or real
substantiate · incarnate · realize · objectify · concretize · reify · externalize · physical
Perfectly correct, no deviation
- preciseExactly correct, no error
- verbatimIn identical wording
- strictRigorous, without flexibility
- narrowOf small width
rigid · inflexible · unimaginative · pedantic · fundamentalist · face-value · surface-level · non-figurative
Exactly as stated
- metaphraseWord-for-word rendering
- interlinearBetween lines of text
- glossShine or annotation
- calqueBorrowed phrase translated literally
semantic · lexical · equivalence · rendering · decoding · transliteration · faithful
Implied identity comparison
- idiomFixed phrase, opaque meaning
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
- symbolismRepresenting concepts through images
- tropeRecurring narrative device
hyperbole · personification · defamiliarized · deadened · image · expression · phrase · saying
concrete
Solid building mixture
- manifestClearly apparent or displayed
- materializeBecome physically present
- embodimentConcrete manifestation of idea
actualize · substantiate · incarnate · realize · objectify · concretize · reify · externalize · physical · tangible
exact
Perfectly correct, no deviation
narrow · rigid · inflexible · unimaginative · pedantic · fundamentalist · face-value · surface-level · non-figurative · prosaic
word-for-word
Exactly as stated
- metaphraseWord-for-word rendering
- interlinearBetween lines of text
- glossShine or annotation
calque · semantic · lexical · equivalence · rendering · decoding · transliteration · faithful
metaphor
Implied identity comparison
- idiomFixed phrase, opaque meaning
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
- symbolismRepresenting concepts through images
trope · hyperbole · personification · defamiliarized · deadened · image · expression · phrase · saying · cliché
literalizedsymbolized
Stood for abstractly
allegorized · abstracted · spiritualized · mythologized · poeticized
literalizedabstracted
Lost in thought
generalized · conceptualized · universalized · theorized · dematerialized