actuality

American  

[ak-choo-al-i-tee] / ˌæk tʃuˈæl ɪ ti /

noun

actualities plural

1. actual existence; reality.

2. an actual condition or circumstance; fact.

   Space travel is now an actuality.

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actuality British  

/ ˌæktʃʊˈælɪtɪ /

noun

1. true existence; reality

2. (sometimes plural) a fact or condition that is real

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonactuality
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• actualities
  plural

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.