this post was submitted on 08 May 2025
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Well, it may not have been the basis in the past...
Dictionaries are descriptive, not prescriptive. They explain how language has been used in the past. They do not regulate the intention of a speaker in the future.
Prescriptively, "literally" and "figuratively" are antonyms. Descriptively, they have been used synonymously.
Having learned this "pusillanimous" meaning, you are now capable of comprehending the intent of someone employing it, much as I am capable of recognizing that "literally" no longer reliably describes the concept of literality.
I guarantee you that nobody is thinking of "pusillanimous" when they call someone a pussy.