The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - literal adj.

1) word-for-word, verbatim, line-for-line, letter-for-letter, literatim, exact, precise, faithful, strict: In a literal translation the spirit of the original is often lost. 2) denotative, etymological, semantic, dictionary, lexical, basic, essential, pure, simple, simplistic, real, objective, true, genuine, bona fide, unvarnished, unadulterated, unembellished, simple-minded, uncomplicated, unbiased, unprejudiced, Colloq honest-to-goodness, honest-to-God: 'Female parent' may be the literal definition of mother, but it doesn't convey the emotional and connotative senses of the word. 3) prosaic, matter-of-fact, colourless, dull, down-to-earth, literal-minded, unimaginative, humdrum, boring, tedious: His literal approach to everything spoils the conversation for those who have any spirit.