DictionaryAI

actual

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

Noun pluralactuals

6 meanings of actual

Practice

  1. 1
    adjective
    Real, rather than imagined, expected or guessed. Also used to stress the exact person or thing you mean.

    Like the difference between planning a trip and the real trip you finally take.

    We don't know the actual cost yet, only a guess.

    The actual winner was different from what most people expected.

    UsageFor things that exist now, use current: the current price.

    Similarreal, true, genuine, exact

    Oppositeestimated, hypothetical, supposed, potential

  2. 2
    money receivednouncountable or uncountable
    The real amount of money a business got or spent, not the amount it guessed or planned beforehand.

    Like checking how much money is really in your wallet, not how much you thought was there.

    The budget said five thousand dollars, but the actuals came to six thousand.

    Each month we compare our actuals with the plan.

    UsageUsually actuals, compared with a budget.

    Oppositeforecast, budget, estimate

  3. 3
    real worldnoununcountable
    What is real, and not just imagined or hoped for.

    Like the difference between a story you make up and the real world you wake up in.

    Philosophers often compare the possible with the actual.

    The gap between the ideal and the actual can be painful.

    UsageSay the actual, often next to the ideal.

    Similarreal

    Oppositeideal, potential

    Note

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    adjectivearchaic
    Going on or existing right now.
    To my actual feelings it seems incredible that I could ever believe that I believed in Transubstantiation!
    c. 1793, Edward Gibbon, Memoirs of My LifeHere, actual means present or current, the feelings the writer has right now.

    Similarpresent, current

    Note
  2. 5
    of actionsadjective
    Having to do with what a person really does, not just what they think or say.

    Like judging people by what they really do, not by what they promise.

    The priest explained the difference between original sin and actual sin.

    In church teaching, telling a lie is an actual sin, not an inherited one.

    UsageMostly in actual sin: a sin a person chooses to do.

    Similarpractical

    Note
  3. 6
    noun
    In radio talk, a word added to a unit's call name to show you mean its commander in person.

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 an old French word meaning "active," which came from Latin actus ("act") and agere ("to do").

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts