actual

English

Etymology

From Middle English actual, actuel (“active”), from Anglo-Norman actuel, actual, and its source Late Latin actualis (“active, practical”), from Latin actus (“act, action, performance”), from agere (“to do; to act”) + -alis (“-al”).

Pronunciation

Adjective

actual (not comparable)

  1. (chiefly theology) Relating to a person's acts or deeds; active, practical. [from 14th c.]
    • c. 1606, William Shakespeare, Macbeth, First Folio 1623, V.1:
      In this slumbry agitation, besides her walking, and other actuall performances, what (at any time) haue you heard her say?
    • 1650, Jeremy Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living:
      Let your holy and pious intention be actual; that is […] by a special prayer or action, […] given to God.
    • 1946, The American Ecclesiastical Review, vol. 114:
      Apparently, the holy Doctor was referring to actual, rather than original, sin; yet the basis of his argument for Mary's holiness, the divine maternity, would logically lead to the conclusion that she was free from original sin also.
  2. Existing in reality, not just potentially; really acted or acting; occurring in fact. [from 14th c.]
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess‎:
      The original family who had begun to build a palace to rival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, so that the actual structure which had come down to posterity retained the secret magic of a promise rather than the overpowering splendour of a great architectural achievement.
    • 2013 June 7, Gary Younge, “Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 18:
      They also exposed the blatant discrepancy between the west's professed values and actual foreign policies.
    the actual cost of goods;  the actual case under discussion
    The actual government expenses dramatically exceed the budget.
  3. (dated, Euro English, now rare in native varieties of English) In action at the time being; now existing; current.
    • 1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the revolution in France:
      If this be your actual situation, compared to the situation to which you were called, as it were by the voice of God and man, I cannot find it in my heart to congratulate you on the choice you have made, or the success which has attended your endeavours.
  4. Used as intensifier to emphasise a following noun; exact, very. [from 18th c.]
    • 2013 August 3, “The machine of a new soul”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
      [H]ow the neurons are organised in these lobes and ganglia remains obscure. Yet this is the level of organisation that does the actual thinking—and is, presumably, the seat of consciousness.

Usage notes
  • In most Romance 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.
  • The phrase in actual fact is criticised by many as redundant.[1]

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms
terms derived from actual (adjective)

Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun

actual (plural actuals)

  1. An actual, real one; notably:
    1. (finance) Something actually received; real receipts, as distinct from estimated ones.
    2. (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.
      Bravo Six Actual, this is Charlie One. Come in, over. (The radio operator is requesting to speak to the commander of the unit under the call sign "Bravo Six.")

See also

References
  1. Christopher Howse; Richard Preston (2007) She Literally Exploded: The Daily Telegraph Infuriating Phrasebook, London: Constable and Robinson, →ISBN, page 3.

Further reading
  • actual in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
  • actual in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin actualis.

Pronunciation

Adjective

actual (masculine and feminine plural actuals)

  1. present, current
  2. factual

Derived terms

Further reading

Galician

Etymology

From Latin actualis.

Adverb

actual m or f (plural actuais)

  1. current, present
  2. factual, real, actual

Derived terms

Further reading

Interlingua

Adjective

actual

  1. present, current
  2. factual
  3. (philosophy) actual, real

Portuguese

Adjective

actual m or f (plural actuais, comparable)

  1. Superseded spelling of atual.

Scots

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈak(t)wəl/

Adjective

actual (comparative mair actual, superlative maist actual)

  1. actual

References

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin actualis.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /aɡˈtwal/, [aɣˈt̪wal]
  • Rhymes: -al

Adjective

actual (plural actuales)

  1. present, current
  2. factual
  3. (philosophy) actual, real

Usage notes
  • Actual is a false friend, and does not mean the same as the English word actual. Spanish equivalents are shown above, in the "Translations" section of the English entry actual.

Derived terms

Prepositional phrase

actual m (plural actuales)

  1. (preceded by del) Of the current month, year, etc.
    El día veinte del actual. ― The twentieth day of the current [month].
    Synonyms: corriente, presente

See also
  • Appendix:Spanish false cognates with English

Further reading

Further reading
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