Definition of "literal interpretation" [literal interpretation]

• An interpretation based on the exact wording (noun)

WordNet. Princeton University. 2010.

• "The second statement may have been a conjecture based upon the identification of Pantænus with one of the teachers described in "Stromata", I, i, and a too literal interpretation of what is said about these teachers deriving their doctrine direct from the Apostles."
• "Unthinking adherence to a literal interpretation of prophecy had in the past caused great turmoil, everything from murder to war."
• "The claims that heliocentricity contradicted the Bible are now seen to have been overstated, and the insistence on a literal interpretation of those particular scripture verses seems wholly unwarranted."