You’ve been saying it in the wrong context forever and now it’s time to stop.
What you think it means: A way to add emphasis to any sentence, as in: "Justin Bieber's pants are literally the worst thing ever."
What it actually means: In a literal or strict sense, i.e. something that really happened, without exaggeration or inaccuracy.
However, the Oxford English Dictionary admitted in 2011 that the common usage of literally to add emphasis had become so widespread that it was forced to alter its definition slightly.
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What you think: They mean the same thing.
What they actually mean: To infer is to form an opinion based on evidence and reasoning. The listener infers. To imply is to express something in an indirect way without saying it plainly. The speaker implies.
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What people think it means: Rarely.
What it actually means: At infrequent or irregular intervals.
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What you think they mean: The same thing.
What they actually mean: To reign is to hold royal office. The Queen reigns over the United Kingdom. Reins are things you use to walk a dog or harness a horse (hence the phrase "free rein", which means to hold a horse's reins loosely).
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