noun
-
true existence; reality
-
(sometimes plural) a fact or condition that is real
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of actuality
1350–1400; Middle English actualite < Medieval Latin āctuālitās. See actual, -ity
Explanation
Actuality is the quality of being real or true. You might wish you could make friends with a bear, but in actuality, you should definitely not climb into the grizzly enclosure at the zoo. Use this word for anything that's objectively factual — you may be terrified of flying, but in actuality it's much safer than riding in a car. Before it meant "state of being real," the word actuality was defined as "power," from the Latin root actus, or "doing." The meaning had shifted by the 1670s, first to "existing conditions," from the French actuel, "up to date," and then to the current definition.
Vocabulary lists containing actuality
Novel Study: American Born Chinese, Pages 85–233
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Moko Magic: Carnival Chaos
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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.
See Examples For:
“I’m really happy that it looks like, ‘Oh, they must have spent so much time,’ when in actuality we just had such a great chemistry immediately.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
The arrangement of dreams and actuality is frustratingly haphazard, more like a pretext to widen the novel’s scope.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
In actuality, the PSG players are going through the instructions in their head as they decide where to move.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
In actuality, LWD didn’t have much to do with Mamdani’s success.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2025
With an effort, Montag reminded himself again that this was no fictional episode to be watched on his run to the river; it was in actuality his own chess-game he was witnessing, move by move.
From "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
His contribution, titled “The Nobel Returns Home,” celebrates how “the Arts — and literature in particular — are well and thriving” in Africa, “a sturdy flag waved above depressing actualities by a young, confident generation.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2021
Meanwhile, its actualities are largely cloaked from scrutiny until they shimmer into a very pricey item loved by both parties.
From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2021
The appearance of unity is easier than the messy actualities.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 31, 2019
To be truly useful, an analogy must be precise not only in its actualities but in its potentialities.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 6, 2017
I don't speak of the actualities of the public situation here at this moment—because I can't say things in the air about them.
From The Letters of Henry James, Vol. II by Henry James
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
