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Literally: a contemporary crutch word of the late aughts of the century or perhaps more so the 2010s (twenty-tens).  

[[File:literallydefine.png]]

Some dictionary "trustees" are adding the “non-literal” version of literally to its offerings. Well-known names such as Merriam and Cambridge have followed in Google’s footsteps by including a meaning that goes something like “used to acknowledge that something isn’t literally true but is used for emphasis or to express a strong feeling.”

Have we literally broken the English language?  According to [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/13/literally-broken-english-language-definition Martha Gill] we should avoid using the word for the moment.  Her talking points include:
#Mucking about with its meaning isn't clever or inventive any more
#To use it is to teeter on the edge of a conversational wormhole 
#So there really is not much we can do with the word "literally", other than avoid it completely. At the moment it is irredeemable. It is a moot word.

[[File:literally3.png]]

Your speech literally becomes less effective, as it is literally lost in the usage of tautological repetitive diction. Many basics literally claim that using, “literally” literally strengthens their sentence because it literally puts an extra emphasis on what they are literally saying "literally" happened. Literally.

"It should not be used as a synonym for actually or really," writes Paul Brians in "Common Errors in English Usage." He also states, "Don’t say of someone that he "literally blew up" unless he swallows a stick of dynamite."

"My impression is that many people don't have any idea of what 'literally' means — or used to mean," Boston University psycholinguist Jean Berko Gleason told the Boston Globe. "So they say things like 'He was literally insane with jealousy.' If in response, you asked them if this person had been institutionalized, they'd look at you as if you were the crazy one."

The grass is literally greener on the other side of the fence.<BR>
[[File:grassliterallygreener.jpg]]

The fact that Charles Dickens used literally in a figurative sense ("'Lift him out,' said Squeers, after he had literally feasted his eyes, in silence, upon the culprit") doesn't justify altering the definition or contemporary overuse of the word.  For example, you wouldn't find the word "literally" a dozen times on each page of his composition.  Consider how often you hear the typical millennial use the word in ordinary conversation.  

<big>omg-like-literally</big> - express yourself with the poise, intelligence, and brevity of a typical millennial San Fernando Valley girl.

The irritation is two part, 1) the word often use incorrectly, and 2) the word is used too often without regards to correctness.  

<big>'''echo literally > /dev/null'''</big>

Start a new trend, make people aware and help them to stop overusing this adverb.  In fact, the English language would survive very well with this word entirely eliminated.

 Patrick@BAP1129	9 May 13
 I wouldn't mind if the word "literally" disappeared from the English language. #literallyoverused

 Dave Burnett@GDaveB	17 Aug 18
 THE CAMPAIGN TO STOP OVERUSE OF THE WORD "LITERALLY" #LiterallyOverused

 Tim Racho@timracho 	24 May 16
 Please stop saying "literally". #thankyou #stopsayingliterally #literally #clutchwords

[[File:literallyexploded.png]]

 🥰💕❤️🌸 #Day6GravityinDallas D-3@romo_valeria	17 May 15
 It's true lol XD #literallyoverused pic.twitter.com/vEsQRwSCVl

 Rob Graham@ErrataRob	9 Jun 13
 Clapper saying "literally gut wrenching" enrages the writing pedant in me #STOPsayingLITERALLY

 Becca@radtattooedmom	Mar 28
 Someone in the breakroom said “literally” 6 times in her short conversation. 6 times!! I literally can’t make this up. 😂 
 #stopsayingliterally

''Actually you could Becca, so you are also using this adverb incorrectly.''

 Rick Sadowski@RickS7	4 Nov 17
 There is not a more overused and incorrectly used word as “literally.” It’s driving me crazy — but not literally! Yet. 
 #stopsayingliterally

 Craig Bourm@mruob928	20 Apr 17
 @HiMyNameIsSeton I think you mean figuratively not literally. You say it a lot. Literally, I mean. #stopsayingliterally

 Anakin's Lightsaber@skywalker_saber	21 Apr 18
 I took a minute and went through my past tweets and saw that I used the word "literally' in 5 posts. That's 5 posts too many. I 
 sincerely apologize. #StopSayingLiterally #IDoNotThinkItMeansWhatYouThinkItMeans

 Chelsea Smith@Chelmsmith	12 Feb 15
 Does anyone know what literally means? #stopsayingliterally

 Matthew Burgess@MatthewtBurgess	7 Apr 15
 Overheard in hospital: “I’m literally up to my neck in patients.” No. No you’re not. #stopsayingliterally

 Stephen Pallotta@stephenpallotta	20 Mar 13
 Even my professors abuse the word literally #stopsayingliterally

 Melanie McGovern@mjmcgovern12	15 Apr 15
 Did they say "literally" in the 80s? #stopsayingliterally #TheGoldbergs

''Answer: No, at least not to such an extent as that asinine and anachronistic television program suggests.''

 AJ@sarahbellum22	4 Mar 13
 I feel bad for literally. It is literally abused by millions of people with literally small vocabularies. #literally 
 #stopsayingliterally

 Gloria R 🌯🌮🥙🍚@ger1771	19 Sep 11
 If you say, "I literally fell out of my chair" and you didn't then I'm gonna push you out of your chair. #stopsayingliterally

''I probably couldn't have said it better myself.''  

 Mark Prommel@markprommel	Jun 8
 Please stop saying "literally." It doesn't make people take your point more seriously. #stopsayingliterally

 Kate Byrne@katemac35	25 May 12
 how do i stop myself from baking when there is virtually NOTHING ELSE TO DO? #correctuseofvirtually #stopsayingliterally #goinginsane

 jay hdez@xTRANSMISIONESx	18 Dec 17
 Make similes and metaphors great again 2018 🇺🇸 #stopsayingliterally #webelieveyou #literary

''I am going to visit cafepress and have hats made that display: Make Metaphores Great Again... "stop saying literally!"''

 Amber Gainey Meade@gaineymeade	22 Jun 15
 Stop saying literally. Stop it. Particularly if what you really mean is "figuratively." Just stop. No more. #literally 
 #StopSayingLiterally

 1ExpensivePieceOfPpr@Michelle_UVic	29 Jan 15
 PSA: Please stop the over (and incorrect use of literally) you are figuratively driving this English major crazy! #uvic 
 #stopsayingliterally

 Hyper Vigilance@AndyRooneyTwin	30 Jan 18
 The word "Literally" is the most overused word in the English language. I hear it so much that it has begun to lose all meaning. 
 Please everyone, #stopsayingliterally. slimkid36.wixsite.com/imjustsaying @BaldBryan @Jokoy @selfamused @Iovelywords 
 pic.twitter.com/5Qw2ogDHJI

 Lena@lenamorsch	Sep 14
 I wish everyone would quit using the word "literally" in every other sentence these days, or at least understand its meaning when 
 using it! It needed to be said! #Literally pic.twitter.com/iMFXsxiqnL

 Multiverse Queen@MultivursQueen	21 Jan 12
 Let's (incl. me) revolutionize the come back of proper grammar & reduce usage of "literally" to its original intent. 
 #literallyoverused

 E-Diggity@ETRAIN57	22 Oct 13
 Literally, #ithink people literally use the word "literally", like, #literally too much #literallyoverused #likeliterally

 Alessandra@mrsmintmav	11 Jul 12
 Guy on This Morning just said 'People are literally dying...' don't think the word 'literally' is needed in that sentence 
 #literallyoverused

 Elliot Whitter@elliotwhitter1	27 Apr 18
 Replying to @astro_milf @mvutant @chancetherapper
 Curious what policies you're referring to that would "literally" kill people in any city, let alone Chicago? You know literally means 
 directly as in he or his policy you're referring to would be the cause of death? Maybe you meant 'essentially' or "virtually?" 
 #LiterallyOverused

 Lisa Pizza 💙@LisaCeeDee	29 Apr 16
 I think I'm gonna start a trend where I use "figuratively" when something is actually literal. Just to be annoying. 
 #StopUsingLiterally

 Josh@Dorkfi5h	4 Aug 14
 Replying to @JohnnyFeisty @margitan
 @JohnnyFeisty @margitan I literally hate the new definition of literally. #literallyisliterally

Hollywood and television producers attempt to influence culture and social interaction by the introduction of subtle or perhaps subliminal words and messages in media.  Consider the television programs "Parks and Recreation" and "The Goldbergs" introducing with great force the indulgence of "literally" a number of times per episode, the common pop culture consumer can't help but to become brainwashed and parrot the popular patois.

Merriam-Webster added a second usage of the word "literally" to mean "virtually," but added the disclaimer that "Since some people take sense 2 to be the opposite of sense 1, it has been frequently criticized as a misuse. Instead, the use is pure hyperbole intended to gain emphasis, but it often appears in contexts where no additional emphasis is necessary."

In the next decade millennials and the following coming of age generation will likely misuse the word "hot" when describing something that is actually cold, such as ice.  Following the most logical (to them) course of action diligent liberal compassionate and understanding authors and editors of Merriam-Webster will include the new opposite definition.  Perhaps in a couple following decades all words will have blended with no clear and definite definition.  In conversation no one will have any actual idea of the information attempting to be conveyed.  Following that mankind will regress into a dialect of grunting and hooting completely doing away with all of the pesky words that make up language.  Who needs the Wernicke's area of the brian? Why not let man de-evolve (devolution) back to Australopithecus and dispense with the use of language altogether?