literal-mindedadj.
/ˌlɪt(ə)rəlˈmʌɪndᵻd/, /ˌlɪt(ə)rl̩ˈmʌɪndᵻd/, U.S. /ˈlɪdərəlˌmaɪndᵻd/, /ˈlɪtrəlˌmaɪndᵻd/ That has a literal mind; relating to or characteristic of a person who takes a pragmatic or matter-of-fact view of things; (now esp.) unimaginative, prosaic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > lack of imagination > [adjective]
positive1594
literal1633
unprojecting1647
pounds, shillings, and pence?1650
matter of fact1712
unvisionary1794
unimaginative1814
literalist1838
literal-mindeda1849
visionless1856
realistic1862
terre-à-terre1888
pragmatical1896
illusionless1897
cookie cutter1922
down to earth1922
the mind > emotion > suffering > feeling of weariness or tedium > [adjective] > wearisome or tedious > lacking inspiration > of persons
literal-mindeda1849
1792 Lady's Mag. May 255/2 The more literal-minded and intelligent observer of human life, will yield a much greater share of real respect to men of Arnulphus' character.
a1849 H. Coleridge Ess. & Marginalia (1851) I. 320 Literal-minded, unimaginative..individuals.
1898 M. S. Emery How to enjoy Pictures viii. 143 Our eyes are so impressed by..the wave-like effect..that we forget to ask prosaic, literal-minded questions about supports and centres of gravity.
1905 J. L. Lowes in Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. 20 816 A strangely literal-minded, not to say naïve, interpretation of the charming fiction of the Prologue.
1992 Esquire July 77/2 [He] sounds irritated when I ask to see him again... He gives me lumpish, literal-minded answers.
2001 Locus June 21/2 Delightful as the stories in that collection were, with their comical mad scientists..and literal-minded robots, they also [etc.].
Derivatives
literal-ˈmindedness n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > lack of imagination > [noun] > quality
matter-of-factness1816
thinginess1891
literal-mindedness1927
1865 Atlantic Monthly Apr. 505/1 Four years old has a sort of literal mindedness about it.
1927 Glasgow Herald 31 Oct. 10 The gentleman married the lady on the strength of her literal-mindedness.
1974 M. Fido R. Kipling 80/2 ‘If you won't retract the lies..I'll blow out your goddam brains!’ ‘If I don't do certain things, you'll kill me?’ Rudyard asked, with infuriating English primness and literal-mindedness.
2004 Daily Tel. 22 Oct. 22/4 E. Nesbit's..book has been rudely Harry Potter-ised,..its fairy-tale quality magicked into CGI literal-mindedness.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1792