actual
Americanadjective
-
existing in reality or as a matter of fact
-
real or genuine
-
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
Related Words
See real 1.
Other Word Forms
- actualness noun
- nonactual adjective
- nonactualness noun
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:
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.
"I very much doubt that there would be any actual agreement at MC14 on any of the reform issues," Stuart Harbinson of the European Centre for International Political Economy think-tank in Brussels told AFP.
From Barron's
The people close to Chinese decision-making said Beijing calculated that the Korea meeting was too brief—with only about 90 minutes of actual talk time—to push it aggressively.
“Not lawyer arguments, not props like a glass of water or a jar of M&Ms, But actual proof in evidence.”
From Los Angeles Times
Scarsbrook's actual language was more colourful than we can publish, because he knew just how important his friend's big breakthrough could prove.
From BBC
"If somebody puts forward an actual project to Salah, then that could be interesting, whether that's the SPL or the MLS."
From BBC
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.
