DictionaryAI

actual

AK-choo-uhl/ˈækʃuəl/UKAK-tyoo-uhl/ˈæktjʊəl/

Noun pluralactuals

6 meanings of actual

Practice

  1. 1
    adjective
    Existing or happening in fact, rather than merely possible, assumed or estimated; often used to emphasize the exact person or thing meant, as opposed to a substitute or approximation.

    The actual number of attendees far exceeded our estimate.

    Reports differed, but the actual cause of the fire turned out to be an electrical fault.

    UsageFor the meaning ‘present’, use current: the current president.

    Similarreal, true, genuine, exact

    Oppositeestimated, hypothetical, supposed, potential

  2. 2
    money receivednouncountable or uncountable
    A real financial figure, such as income or spending actually recorded, as distinct from an estimated, budgeted or forecast figure.

    Sales actuals for March came in well above the forecast.

    The board wants to see actuals, not projections, before it approves more spending.

    UsageUsually plural and set against a budget or forecast: actuals versus projections.

    Oppositeforecast, budget, estimate

  3. 3
    real worldnoununcountable
    Reality itself; what exists in fact, typically referred to with the definite article.

    His writing dwells on the gap between the ideal and the actual.

    We must work with the actual, not with the world as we wish it to be.

    UsageOften contrasted with the ideal or the possible.

    Similarreal

    Oppositeideal, potential

    Note

    Letitia Elizabeth Landon's Ethel Churchill (1837) says cities need luxuries, "were it only to conceal the actual," meaning the bare reality of a poorly furnished London room.

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    adjectivearchaic
    Currently in action or existing at the present time; current.
    To my actual feelings it seems incredible that I could ever believe that I believed in Transubstantiation!
    c. 1793, Edward Gibbon, Memoirs of My Life

    Similarpresent, current

    Note

    A time word rather than a truth word: in older prose it means "present, as things now stand." When Burke writes of "your actual situation" in 1790, he means the present one. Gibbon's "my actual feelings" are his feelings at the time of writing. Modern readers hear "real" in both, which is the trap.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Actual historically meant present or current. en.wiktionary.org
    • Burke's phrase occurs in Reflections on the Revolution in France, first published in 1790. commons.wikimedia.org
    • Burke uses the exact phrase to describe the situation then existing. gutenberg.org
    • Gibbon's exact phrase refers to his feelings when writing, contrasted with his earlier religious beliefs. upload.wikimedia.org
  2. 5
    of actionsadjective
    Relating to a person's acts or deeds; active and practical rather than merely intended.

    The sermon contrasted actual sins, which we commit by choice, with the condition we are born into.

    Theologians separate original sin, which everyone inherits, from the actual sins a person commits.

    UsageMostly in actual sin, set against original sin.

    Similarpractical

    Note

    An early meaning, and the closest to Late Latin actualis, "active, practical," from actus, "act." Theology keeps it alive. Actual sin is sin a person commits by their own will, set against original sin, the condition inherited at birth. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the doctor asks about Lady Macbeth's "actuall performances": the things she does, besides walking, in her sleep.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

    • Late Latin actualis means active, practical and derives from actus. en.wiktionary.org
    • Latin actus means act. en.wiktionary.org
    • The theological term actual sin denotes sin committed by the individual's own will. newadvent.org
    • Original sin is an inherited condition, distinguished from personally committed sin. vatican.va
    • Macbeth is Shakespeare's work. en.wikisource.org
    • The doctor uses the exact phrase actuall performances when discussing Lady Macbeth's actions during sleep. en.wikisource.org
  3. 6
    noun
    A radio callsign modifier indicating the commanding officer of a unit in person, rather than a subordinate or stand-in transmitting under the same callsign.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of actual apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Middle English actual ("active"), via Anglo-Norman actuel, from Late Latin actuālis ("active, practical"). This came from Latin actus ("act, action"), from agere ("to do, to act").

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts