I have a friend in Eugene who shares my annoyance with newscasters who say stupid things. She sent me this gem from a local station:

"COVID-19 is literally turning our world upside down."

Their is now a second definition of literally to mean figuratively. Language is a living entity that reflects how people are currently using it. At times frustrating but true.

People use it now as an intensifier, like 'completely' or 'totally'. It literally doesn't mean literally any more.

Well, that argument, while true, is often used to justify poor language skills. Inclusion in the dictionary isn't an indicator of correctness.

Here's an article about it. The gist is, "The dictionaries have begrudgingly bowed to the will of the grammar-averse public."

https://theweek.com/articles/466957/how-wrong-definition-literally-sneaked-into-dictionary

As much as I can sympathize with anyone's aversion to ugly or illogical neologisms, the now-conventional and well-accepted misuse of "literally" has nothing to do with bad grammar, but rather is a sematic error.

I thought so, too, but it was a quote from the article, so I let it stand.

After a little research, I find that "grammar" has several meanings, one of which is broad, and includes syntax, semantics, spelling, punctuation, and more.

The problem with language purist is that language evolves. The pure form of the language they are trying to hold on to is but a brief slice in time. For English... particularly American English... their is no governing agency to decide what is right and wrong to determine what is the new "correct" and what is heretical inarticulates.

Generally, BZH, I agree with you, but the changing of the word "literally" is an especially frustrating case. It makes what was once an elegant, succint, and clear way to say something completely useless.