adjective
- Presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible.
- usage: "the predicted temperature and the actual temperature were markedly different"; "actual and imagined conditions"
- synonyms: existent
- Taking place in reality; not pretended or imitated.
- usage: "we saw the actual wedding on television"; "filmed the actual beating"
- Being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something.
- usage: "her actual motive"; "a literal solitude like a desert- G. K. Chesterton; "a genuine dilemma"
- Existing in act or fact.
- usage: "rocks and trees... The actual world"; "actual heroism"; "the actual things that produced the emotion you experienced"
- synonyms: factual
- Being or existing at the present moment.
- usage: "the ship's actual position is 22 miles due south of Key West"
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). actual. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/actual/definitions/1167282 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "actual" http://smartdefine.org/actual/definitions/1167282 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, actual, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/actual/definitions/1167282>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "actual" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/actual/definitions/1167282> |