actual
Americanadjective
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existing in reality or as a matter of fact
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real or genuine
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existing at the present time; current
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informal (usually preceded by your) (intensifier)
that music's by your actual Mozart, isn't it?
Usage
The excessive use of actual and actually should be avoided. They are unnecessary in sentences such as in actual fact, he is forty-two, and he did actually go to the play but did not enjoy it
Synonym Usage
See real 1.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of actual
First recorded in 1275–1325; from Late Latin āctuālis, from Latin āctu(s) act + -ālis -al 1; replacing Middle English actuel, from Middle French, from Latin
Compare meaning
How does actual compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
If you describe something as actual, it really exists or is true. You might excitedly tell your friends that you saw an actual bald eagle land on your mailbox. Use the adjective actual when you want to emphasize that something is certain or confirmed, especially when it's different from what you expected. For example, you might say, "The actual length of my cousin's visit was three weeks, even though she said she'd stay three days." The Old French root is actuel, "now existing," from the Latin word actus, "a doing, driving, or impulse."
Vocabulary lists containing actual
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“And when you’re not the author of the actual written word, you don’t have a piece.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
This is exactly how I like to cook on a weeknight: a little homemade, a little store-bought and just enough actual cooking to make dinner feel like dinner.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
“The actual announcement came across as much less dramatic than anticipated, with a wide gap between the rhetoric and the substance,” Jorge León, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy, wrote in a note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
His high-profile targets went on to include the future French president Nicolas Sarkozy in 1997 -- although in that case he had an accomplice lob the actual pie for fear of being recognised.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
I woke up confident in my conclusions from the day before, and that made them seem like actual plans because I was thinking with logic now, rather than anguish.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
