Literally/Figuratively

I’m literally shaking my head as I write this update. Yes, my head is actually moving back and forth. I know that people have been misusing the word “literally” when they mean “figuratively” in recent years, but breaking grammarian news brings a new, sad twist to the word use saga. Dictionaries have added a definition.

Traditionally, “literally” has meant “actually, without exaggeration or inaccuracy”; “figuratively” has meant “metaphorically, not literally.” You often hear people confusing the words – think Robin Scherbatsky for How I Met Your Mother fans (“That literally blew my mind.”) – but until recently, there was always a right and a wrong. Then came breaking news. Dictionaries have added a new definition to the word “literally”:

“Used to acknowledge that something is not literally true but is used for emphasis or to express strong feeling.”

What? So this second definition is the opposite of the first definition?

Perhaps, the Merriam-Webster and Cambridge dictionaries are okay with this. I’m not especially. It figuratively blows my mind. Any other reactions here?