actuality

[ ak-choo-al-i-tee ]

/ ˌæk tʃuˈæl ɪ ti /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for actuality on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural ac·tu·al·i·ties.

actual existence; reality.

an actual condition or circumstance; fact: Space travel is now an actuality.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.

Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of actuality

1350–1400; Middle English actualite<Medieval Latin āctuālitās.See actual, -ity

OTHER WORDS FROM actuality

non·ac·tu·al·i·ty, noun, plural non·ac·tu·al·i·ties.

Words nearby actuality

actual bodily harm, actual cautery, actual cost, actualism, actualité, actuality, actualization, actualize, actually, actuals, actual sin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use actuality in a sentence

Too many of my colleagues pay lip service to a “biopsychosocial” model of human development, while in actuality failing to pay attention to any genetic differences between people in their research designs.
How to Build a Society for All to Enjoy - Issue 107: The Edge|Kathryn Paige Harden|September 29, 2021|Nautilus
In actuality, PBS Digital will work with a brand like PBS Kids that receives grant money on producing a digital series.
Case Study: How PBS programming informs its YouTube strategy — and what it looks like when it gets there|Sara Jerde|June 22, 2021|Digiday
In actuality, they were a brutal dictatorship that subjugated other races.
Every ‘Mass Effect’ squadmate, ranked from a storytelling perspective|Jhaan Elker|June 4, 2021|Washington Post
In one news report, Carlson referred to Carmichael as “she, or rather he,” said she’s “in actuality a man,” and described her as looking “harried, bedraggled” in a “pink pantsuit” that she’d apparently worn for days.
Politics Report: BIA’s Big Decision|Scott Lewis and Andrew Keatts|March 6, 2021|Voice of San Diego

In actuality, Dustin was a humorous and high-spirited individual whose greatest passion was to make others laugh.
Dustin Diamond, best known as Screech from ‘Saved By the Bell,’ dies at 44|Emily Yahr|February 1, 2021|Washington Post
In actuality, there were less than 300 U.S. soldiers in the valley at any given time.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley|Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In actuality, an encounter with a goddess of the underworld is another step in the second cycle of the monomyth.
The Walking Dead’s Luke Skywalker: Rick Grimes Is the Perfect Modern-Day Mythical Hero|Regina Lizik|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But in actuality, the novel contains ample material that points to a real and specific time and place.
This Week’s Hot Reads: April 14, 2014|Charles Shafaieh|April 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To BE is to exist, to have actuality; a BI is a guy or girl with bisexuality.
National Scrabble Day: A Poem So You’ll Know All 101 Two-Letter Words|David Bukszpan|April 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
There is a need to humanize plans that work on paper, in the abstract, but lack touchy-feely elements in actuality.
What the Stars Hold for Your Week|Starsky + Cox|July 30, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Find this first, and represent it as soon as you have got the main values, in this way the whole thing will tell as an actuality.
The Painter in Oil|Daniel Burleigh Parkhurst
The first regiments were only boys, still unmarried, living in romance rather than actuality.
Ways of War and Peace|Delia Austrian
The time of hard grappling with the overwhelming fulness of actuality is over.
The History of Modern Painting, Volume 1 (of 4)|Richard Muther
Perforce, because he was born in our horde he stayed with us; but in actuality he was an atavism and his place was elsewhere.
Before Adam|Jack London
The "Blind Lead" episode, as related, is presumably a tale of what might have happened—a possibility rather than an actuality.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete|Albert Bigelow Paine

British Dictionary definitions for actuality

actuality

/ (ˌæktʃʊˈælɪtɪ) /

noun plural -ties

true existence; reality

(sometimes plural) a fact or condition that is real

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

actuality

Origin of actuality

OTHER WORDS FROM actuality

Words nearby actuality

Words related to actuality

How to use actuality in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for actuality