The meaning of ACTUAL is existing in fact or reality. How to use actual in a sentence.

You use actual to emphasize that you are referring to something real or genuine.

1. existing in act, fact, or reality; real: an actual case; the actual cost. 2. existing now; present; current: the ship's actual position.

Actual is an adjective meaning ‘true’, ‘real’ and ‘the thing in itself’. It does not refer to time. Actual always comes immediately before the noun it is describing: …

Definition of actual adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

There are 13 meanings listed in OED's entry for the word actual, two of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

actual is an adjective, actuality is a noun, actually is an adverb, actualize is a verb: The actual facts are these. In actuality, the quarter didn't disappear; it was in the magician's hand.

ACTUAL definition: existing in act or fact; real. See examples of actual used in a sentence.

Jan 22, 2026 · actual (countable and uncountable, plural actuals) an actual, real one; notably: (finance) something actually received; real receipts, as distinct from estimated ones.

Synonyms Actual, Positive, etc. (see real), veritable, genuine, certain, absolute. from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.