actually
Americanadverb
adverb
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as an actual fact; really
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( as sentence modifier )
actually, I haven't seen him
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at present
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informal a parenthetic filler used to add slight emphasis
I don't know, actually
Usage
Spelling tips for actually The word actually is hard to spell because it uses a double l. How to spell actually: The word actually is often used for emphasis. Keep in mind that to really make your point, you need Lots of Ls (a double l).
Etymology
Origin of actually
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; actual ( def. ), + -ly ( def. )
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 thought, ‘OK, I’m just going to give them a little heads up of what the film’s actually about.’
From Los Angeles Times
But it’s to Raimi and the actors’ credit that they manage to make such an odious character as Bradley actually sympathetic — and so clear a heroine as Linda complex and thorny.
From Los Angeles Times
So can Sanders actually start fining players on his team for these violations?
From MarketWatch
There’s a metaphor about a trapped bird in her rehearsal space that doesn’t land and a weak attempt to juice tension that the label might actually prefer her dead.
From Los Angeles Times
He may not have been the worst player in the room, but most everyone chuckled when the announcer attempted to reassure him that he was “actually doing great.”
From Los Angeles Times
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.
