illiteral

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ɪˈlɪtərəl/ UK /ɪˈlɪtərəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
not literal; figurative or contrary to the letter

Her illiteral reading of the law stretched its meaning.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · not literal; figurative or... figurativenonliteralmetaphorical

Opposites

literal

Word family

Related forms literal letter

Etymology

From in- ('not') + literal, from Latin litteralis ('of letters'), from littera ('letter'). A rare term meaning 'not literal'.

litteralis la-lat littera Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# illiteral

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ɪˈlɪtərəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪˈlɪtərəl/

## Meanings
1. not literal; figurative or contrary to the letter

## Examples
- Her illiteral reading of the law stretched its meaning.

## Synonyms
- figurative
- nonliteral
- metaphorical

## Antonyms
- literal

## Related Forms
- literal
- letter

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: litteralis
- Root: littera

## Etymology
From in- ('not') + literal, from Latin litteralis ('of letters'), from littera ('letter'). A rare term meaning 'not literal'.

## AI Etymology
illiteral comes from in- ('not') + literal, from Latin litteralis ('of letters'), from littera ('letter'). A rare term meaning 'not literal'. Morphologically, the prefixed shape matters: the initial element belongs to the recorded formation and helps explain the modern form's surface analysis. In present English, the adjective sense is "not literal; figurative or contrary to the letter", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as literal and letter. Its semantic neighborhood includes figurative, nonliteral, and metaphorical, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin litteralis and Latin littera.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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