Which sentence demonstrates semantic bleaching?

• A. The word "literally" always means exactly true
• B. The word "literally" has become a synonym for "definitely"
• C. The word "literally" is used to express sarcasm
• D. "Literally" used as an intensifier, not its literal meaning

Answer: (D)

Semantic bleaching is when a word loses its precise, literal meaning and takes on a lighter, more general function in language—often becoming an intensifier or a discourse marker rather than a statement about truth.

The sentence that shows this best uses literally as an intensifier, not to claim something is literally true. Here, the word sheds its exact meaning of truth in a strict sense and simply boosts the force of the statement, which is the hallmark of bleaching.

The other statements keep or shift meaning in ways that don’t clearly illustrate this loss of semantic content to a less precise, more generalized use.