English[]
Etymology[]
Middle English actual, actuel (“‘active’”) < Old French actuel, actual < Late Latin actualis (“‘active, practical’”) < Latin actus (“‘act, action, performance’”), < agere (“‘to do; to act’”)) + -alis '-al'.
Pronunciation[]
Adjective[]
Actual (not comparable)
Positive |
Superlative |
- Existing in act or reality, not just potentially; really acted or acting; occurring in fact
- the actual cost of goods
- the actual case under discussion
- Factual, real, not just apparent or even false
- The actual government expenses dramatically excede the budget
- In action at the time being; now existing.
- The actual situation of the world economy is worse then anyone expected a year ago
- (obsolete) Active, not passive
- Used to emphasise a noun or verb, whether something is real or metaphorical.
Usage notes[]
- In some foreign languages the counterpart of actual also means “modern”. This meaning occurs mainly in English written by allophones, but is nonstandard English.
- The phrase in actual fact is criticised by many as redundant.[1]
Synonyms[]
- (existing in act or reality): real
- (in action at the time being): present
- positive
Antonyms[]
- (existing in act or reality): potential, possible, virtual, speculative, conceivable, theoretical, nominal, hypothetical, estimated
- (in action at the time being): future, past
Derived terms[]
terms derived from actual (adjective)
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Related terms[]
- activity
- actor
- actuary
Translations[]
existing in act or reality, not just potentially
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factual, real, not just apparent or even false
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in action at the time being
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emphasise a noun
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- 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 Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
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See also[]
- certain
- genuine
Noun[]
Singular |
Plural |
Actual ({{{1}}})
- An actual, real one; notably:
- (finance) Something actually received; real receipts, as distinct from estimated ones.
- Template: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, Snakebite leader" (The person with the callsign "Snakebite leader" requests to speak to the commander of company Bravo and not the radio operator.)
References[]
- ↑ Template:R:She Literally Exploded, page 3
External links[]
- Actual in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- Actual in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
Anagrams[]
- aacltu,
- acault
Catalan[]
Adjective[]
Actual (epicene, plural Actuals)
- present, current
- factual
Related terms[]
- actualment
- actualitat
- actualitzar
Galician[]
Adverb[]
Template:Gl-adj
Derived terms[]
Interlingua[]
Adjective[]
Actual
- present, current
- factual
- Template:Philosophy actual, [[real]
Related terms[]
- actualmente
- actualitate
- actualisar
Spanish[]
Adjective[]
Actual m. and f. (plural actuales)
- present, current
- factual
- Template:Philosophy actual, real
Usage notes[]
- actual is a false friend, and does not mean the same as English word actual (“‘real; non-imaginary’”). Spanish equivalents are shown above, in the “Translations” section of the English entry actual.
Related terms[]
- actualmente
- actualidad
- actualizar
See also[]
- Appendix:Spanish false cognates with English
ar:actual et:actual es:actual fa:actual fr:actual ko:actual io:actual id:actual it:actual kn:actual ku:actual lt:actual hu:actual ml:actual nl:actual ja:actual pl:actual pt:actual ru:actual simple:actual fi:actual sv:actual ta:actual te:actual tr:actual vi:actual zh:actual