VocabauraVOCABAURA

actual

adjective · noun

Simple meaning

About a person's acts or deeds.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

akchuhwuhl

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈæktʃəwəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. chiefly theology

    Relating to a person's acts or deeds; active, practical

  2. Presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible

    “The predicted temperature and the actual temperature were markedly different.”

  3. Existing in reality, not just potentially; really acted or acting; occurring in fact.

  4. Used as intensifier to emphasise a following noun; exact, specific, very.

noun

  1. uncountable

    Reality, usually with the definite article.

  2. An actual, real one; notably

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Relating to a person's acts or deeds; active, practical

Used this way, actual is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a religious use: it carries the weight of tradition and ceremony.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Where it naturally appears

  • Religion/spirituality
  • Historical writing

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use actual

  • “The predicted temperature and the actual temperature were markedly different.”adjective

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “actual”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Presently / existing

actual fact

Time

actual cost

Radio

actual number

Other combinations

actual sizeactual practiceactual experienceactual valueactual performance

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • actuarynounDerived noun

    Someone versed in the collection and interpretation of numerical data (especially someone who uses statistics to calculate insurance premiums).

  • actuationnounDerived noun

    The act of propelling.

  • actuallyadverbDerived adverb

    In actual fact.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • actual sinnounCompound term

    A sin committed of your own free will (as contrasted with original sin).

  • actual possessionnounCompound term

    Immediate and direct physical control over property.

  • actual evictionnounCompound term

    The physical ouster of a tenant from the leased premises.

  • actual damagesnounCompound term

    Compensation for losses that can readily be proven to have occurred and for which the injured party has the right to be compensated.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: relating to a person's acts or deeds

real

Antonyms

Sense: reality or usually with the definite article

possibleInformal

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “actual” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.