existing in act or fact; real: an actual case of heroism; actual expenses.
existing now; present; current: The ship's actual position is 22 miles due east of Miami.
Obsolete. pertaining to or involving acts or action.
Origin of actual
1275–1325; <Late Latin āctuālis, equivalent to Latin āctu- (stem of action noun āctus;see act) + -ālis-al1; replacing Middle English actuel<Middle French <Latin
If you get to be a monopoly because we don’t enforce antitrust laws, you’re going to end up making, pre tax, a lot more money than you would otherwise have made if you had to compete in an actual free market.
Writer Anand Giridharadas on tech’s billionaires: “Are they even on the same team as us?”|Connie Loizos|September 25, 2020|TechCrunch
The actual Mayo Clinic researchers who authored the cited study complained that the FDA “grossly misrepresented” their data.
Amid vaccine trials, the FDA is on trial itself|jakemeth|September 24, 2020|Fortune
These controls are more about your privacy and your relationship with Google than actual Android security, but it’s worth noting that the less data you share, the safer you are.
Android security settings you should check right now|David Nield|September 24, 2020|Popular Science
It will automatically optimize against actual sales in stores, not merely foot traffic.
Google local ads gain Smart Bidding for store sales, ‘pick up later,’ service attributes|Greg Sterling|September 23, 2020|Search Engine Land
The assumption is that the smaller the cut for the ad tech vendor the more there is in the actual bid to compete for impressions that it may have otherwise lost.
‘Necessary, but insufficient:’ Advertisers are starting to question the value of low exchange fees|Seb Joseph|September 23, 2020|Digiday
Not actual CIA agents, but U.S. government personnel who have worked very closely with the CIA, and who are fans of the show.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
They are not the actual traffickers, Yazbek says, so generally the other refugees protect their identity.
Ghost Ships of the Mediterranean|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Texas offers not just place to its actual or potential new residents, but professional possibilities.
Will Texas Stay Texan?|David Fontana|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But to see any actual smooching, fans had to take matters into their own .
Yep, Korra and Asami Went in the Spirit Portal and Probably Kissed|Melissa Leon|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It may well be that RevolutionWear is going to find out the hard way that it takes more than money to start an actual revolution.
Would You Pay $100 For a 50 Cent Bulge? Men’s Undies Get Expensive|James Joiner|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On turning the paper through ninety degrees or by actual measurement, the extent of the illusion will become apparent.
Visual Illusions|Matthew Luckiesh
Above the actual dome is the Golden Gallery, and then the lantern, roofed with a dome bearing the ball and cross.
The Cathedrals of Great Britain|P. H. Ditchfield
The present prominence of this characteristic in Japan is still further to be accounted for by her actual recent history.
Evolution Of The Japanese, Social And Psychic|Sidney L. Gulick
In the examples thus far given, it will be noticed that the actual names of individual fingers do not appear.
The Number Concept|Levi Leonard Conant
The contemplation of the wonders of Eternity does not conceal the advantages of actual and existent Time.
When the World Shook|H. Rider Haggard
British Dictionary definitions for actual
actual
/ (ˈæktʃʊəl) /
adjective
existing in reality or as a matter of fact
real or genuine
existing at the present time; current
(usually preceded by your)Britishinformal, oftenfacetious(intensifier)that music's by your actual Mozart, isn't it?
See also actuals
Word Origin for actual
C14: actuel existing, from Late Latin āctuālis relating to acts, practical, from Latin āctusact
usage for actual
The excessive use of actual and actually should be avoided. They are unnecessary in sentences such as in actual fact, he is forty-two, and he did actually go to the play but did not enjoy it