actual

adjective

ac·​tu·​al ˈak-ch(ə-w)əl How to pronounce actual (audio)
-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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This is an exuberant, visually stylish imagining of soccer that, say some critics who played the beta preview, gets tantalizingly close to the pure physical joy of kicking an actual soccer ball around with your friends. Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 23 May 2025 But the whole point of the series is that Oscar can get away with this as there is no actual evidence. Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025 The Lee County Sheriff’s Office, who has yet to track down the actual suspect, vowed in its statement that its investigators still hope to crack the 1995 murder case one day. Sean Neumann, People.com, 23 May 2025 Watching actual bodies and objects moving through space (the air or water) is literal-minded rather than fantastic in the ways that made silent movie masters Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Charlie Chaplin funny and sublime. Armond White, National Review, 23 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for actual

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of actual was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Actual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/actual. Accessed 29 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

actual

adjective
ac·​tu·​al ˈak-ch(ə-w)əl How to pronounce actual (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on actual

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