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ACTUAL
actual, existent
(adjective) presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible; “the predicted temperature and the actual temperature were markedly different”; “actual and imagined conditions”
actual
(adjective) being or existing at the present moment; “the ship’s actual position is 22 miles due south of Key West”
actual
(adjective) taking place in reality; not pretended or imitated; “we saw the actual wedding on television”; “filmed the actual beating”
actual, factual
(adjective) existing in act or fact; “rocks and trees...the actual world”; “actual heroism”; “the actual things that produced the emotion you experienced”
actual, genuine, literal, real
(adjective) being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something; “her actual motive”; “a literal solitude like a desert”- G.K.Chesterton; “a genuine dilemma”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
actual (not comparable)
(chiefly, theology) relating to a person's acts or deeds; active, practical [from 14th c.]
Existing in reality, not just potentially; really acted or acting; occurring in fact. [from 14th c.]
Synonym: real
Antonyms: potential, possible, virtual, speculative, conceivable, theoretical, nominal, hypothetical, estimated
(now, rare) in action at the time being; now existing; current. [from 16th c.]
Used as intensifier to emphasise a following noun; exact, very. [from 18th c.]
Synonym: present
Antonyms: future, past
Usage notes
• In most Romance, Slavic and Germanic languages the cognate of actual means “current”. This meaning has also been used in English since the sixteenth century but is now rare due to a semantic shift.
• The phrase in actual fact has been proscribed by some prescriptivist sources as redundant.
Synonyms
• positive
Noun
actual (plural actuals)
an actual, real one; notably
(finance) something actually received; real receipts, as distinct from estimated ones.
(military) a radio callsign modifier that specifies the commanding officer of the unit or asset denoted by the remainder of the callsign and not the officer's assistant or other designee.
Anagrams
• acault
Source: Wiktionary
Ac"tu*al (#; 135), a. Etym: [OE. actuel, F. actuel, L. actualis, fr. agere to do, act.]
1. Involving or comprising action; active. [Obs.] Her walking and other actual performances. Shak. Let your holy and pious intention be actual; that is . . . by a special prayer or action, . . . given to God. Jer. Taylor.
2. Existing in act or reality; really acted or acting; in fact; real;
– opposed to potential, possible, virtual, speculative, coceivable, theoretical, or nominal; as, the actual cost of goods; the actual case under discussion.
3. In action at the time being; now exiting; present; as the actual situation of the country. Actual cautery. See under Cautery.
– Actual sin (Theol.), that kind of sin which is done by ourselves in contradistinction to "original sin."
Syn.
– Real; genuine; positive; certain. See Real.
Ac"tu*al, n. (Finance)
Definition: Something actually received; real, as distinct from estimated, receipts. [Cant] The accounts of revenues supplied . . . were not real receipts: not, in financial language, "actuals," but only Egyptian budget estimates. Fortnightly Review.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
2 April 2025
COVERT
(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”
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