I've never heard or used that word, and I hate when people who literally don't know what the word literally means use the word literally.

A co-worker: "I literally died."

Me: "Unfortunately you literally did not."

To use 'literately' instead of 'literally' is to use the word illiterately.

Tell him not to use either word. He probably is using literally incorrectly or unnecessarily anyway, like 90% of the people do these days. Literally is the opposite of figuratively. That's all.

It reminds me of the use of my pet hate 'defiantly' when they mean 'definitely'. I see this frequently typed in social media and would hope it's down to the illiteracy of the auto cat rectal.

I have heard quite a few people say “pacifically “ when they mean specifically. As they are usually strangers I do not correct them!

Obviously a quirk of that person who (must have) misheard the word at some point. I'm about to look up "literately"; by formation, it exists. But hard to do something in a literate way. Then again, as Gwendolyn noted below, with semi-literacy being an issue it might be possible to say, "I literately tweet," meaning, I write my tweets in a literate way (with proper spelling, grammar, punctuation). Not convinced that's right, but I'll put that out there for fellow Grammar Nazis to discuss.

My daughter just figured out what the word “literally” means and now uses it in every story she tells to anyone. She’s 9. I’m sure she’ll grow out of it.

I've always been uncomfortable correcting people in this situation...and I never have. It's kind of like "supposably"

I know a person who says ‘supposably.’ She’s in her 70s and she’s just too much of a sweetie for me to care.

Yep - literately is used in place of literally by many ‘hillbillies’ in this rural section of California. Multi generations of independent backwoods types. I thought it was colloquial

"literately" I don't know what to say..... ?

I'm not sure I've ever come across or used the word "literately." Now that I think of it, the word "illiterately" seems much more useful.

Some people have verbal tics like that and don't even realize. I work with a woman who ends every sentence in "you know?"

Never heard or seen it before.

"Literately" is not an actual word.......may be in a dictionary somewhere, almost everything is, but "literally" is correct.

So be a friend and correct them. Ask if they ment to say literally instead of literately, and explain the difference. If they react negatively, tell them that you would want to be corrected yourself if the rolls were reversed.

Even if you’re friend uses ‘literally’, I doubt it’s being used properly anyway.

I looked up "literately." Most of the results are dictionary references, which means that the word is definitely legit. However, I didn't find a single proper use of the word outside the dictionary definitions. It was used several times in place of "literally," as in, "I literately picture my wedding like this." [dictionary.com]

One who is "literate" is a "literite." Maybe.

I use that word literally every other day..?

I'd be curious how people would spell these words ("literately", “pacifically“, etc), if these are just bad speech habits or if they are literately illiterate (say that 10 times fast).

My dearest and closest friend in the world does that kind of thing (I'm assuming you mean spoken rather than written). She is so natively smart, knowing exactly the terms and their meanings, as it shows by context. It is just too cute and I absolutely love it about her! Titled them 'Bernadettisms'.

Here are a couple of especially cute ones: Glutimus Maximus and Jet'nals. Her knack is similar but unintentionally like Norm Crosby. It doesn't happen very often but when she does it I just want to bite her butt.