What is the difference between literal and figurative meaning?

• A. Literal words mean exactly what they say; figurative words mean something more.
• B. Literal means symbolic; figurative means factual.
• C. Literal statements always reveal truth; figurative statements are false.
• D. Literal language uses metaphors; figurative language uses facts.

Answer: (A)

Literal meaning is the exact, dictionary sense of the words—the statement as it would be understood if taken at face value. Figurative meaning is what the language conveys beyond the surface by using figures of speech like metaphors, similes, idioms, or exaggeration.

For example, if someone says, “It’s raining cats and dogs,” the literal meaning would be a sky literally full of animals, which isn’t true. The figurative meaning is that it’s raining very hard. The best description among the options is that literal words mean exactly what they say, while figurative words convey something more than the surface level.

The other statements mix up these ideas: literal language isn’t inherently symbolic, and figurative language isn’t just about facts—it's about meaning beyond the literal truth. Also, literal language isn’t defined by using metaphors—that’s a characteristic of figurative language.