- used to emphasize something that is real or exists in fact
- James looks younger than his wife but in actual fact (= really) he is five years older.
- The actual cost was higher than we expected.
- The actual number of unemployed is more than 15 million.
- What were his actual words?
- A variety of factors could cause our actual results to differ from the expected results.
- The story of the film is based on actual events and people.
Which Word? actual / current / presentactual / current / present- Actual does not mean current or present. It means ‘real’ or ‘exact’, and is often used in contrast with something that is not seen as real or exact:
- I need the actual figures, not an estimate.
- Present means ‘existing or happening now’:
- How long have you been in your present job?
- Current also means ‘existing or happening now’, but can suggest that the situation is temporary:
- The factory cannot continue its current level of production.
- Actually does not mean ‘at the present time’. Use currently, at present or at the moment instead.
- used to emphasize the most important part of something
- The rehearsal was fabulous, the actual performance even better.
- The wedding preparations take weeks but the actual ceremony takes less than an hour.
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French actuel ‘active, practical’, from late Latin actualis, from actus ‘event, thing done’, act- ‘done’, from the verb agere, reinforced by the French noun acte.
Check pronunciation:
actual