actual

adjective

ac·​tu·​al ˈak-ch(ə-w)əl 

-sh(ə-w)əl;

-chü-əl,

-shü-

1

a

: existing in fact or reality

actual events

actual and imagined conditions

b

: not false or apparent

actual costs

c

—used for emphasis

This is the actual room in which my grandfather was born.

2

: existing or occurring at the time

caught in the actual commission of a crime

3

obsolete : active

Synonyms

• concrete
• de facto
• effective
• existent
• factual
• genuine
• real
• sure-enough
• true
• very

Examples of actual in a Sentence

They signed the agreement in the spring, but the actual sale wasn't made until that summer.

You deposit money in a bank account but the actual money is not held there.

The actual cost of the repair was much higher than the estimate.

Recent Examples on the Web

Last year, poor air quality from wildfire smoke in Canada spread all the way to New York and many states in northeastern America, posing dangerous threats to health hundreds and thousands of miles away from the actual fire. —Omer Awan, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2025

Given that the cast had a complex relationship with fame due to their actual names and faces in the film, Toti, Kempf and Christian decided to never release the project to streaming, digital or an easily pirateable physical release. —William Earl, Variety, 11 Jan. 2025

But issuing preemptive pardons — for actual or imagined offenses by Trump’s critics that could be investigated or prosecuted by the incoming administration — would stretch the powers of the presidency in untested ways. —Zeke Miller and Colleen Long, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2025

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the actual story is more complicated than that. —Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "active, existing in fact," borrowed from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French actuel, borrowed from Late Latin āctuālis, from Latin āctus act entry 1 + -ālis -al entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Phrases Containing actual

• actual cash value
• in actual fact

Kids Definition

actual

adjective

ac·​tu·​al ˈak-ch(ə-w)əl 

ˈak-sh(ə-w)əl

: existing in fact and not merely as a possibility

actuality

ˌak-chə-ˈwal-ət-ē

-shə-

noun

actualization

ˈak-ch(ə-w)ə-lə-ˈzā-shən

-sh(ə-w)ə-

noun

actualize

-ˌīz

verb

Legal Definition

actual

adjective

ac·​tu·​al

: existing in fact or reality compare constructive

actually adverb