adjective
actual
AK-choo-ul/ˈæktʃuəl/
Real or existing rather than supposed or imagined.
The actual apple casts a shadow beside its pencil sketch.
Etymology
Originally describing what pertains to action, actual broadened to mean real or existing. The useful contrast is between something merely potential or ideal and something that exists in fact.
In context
such generalizations always remain mere facts we feel that there might be be a world in which they were false though in the actual World they happen to be true
More examples
- We compare the model with the actual building.
- The witness describes what happened on the actual day.
- Her actual duties differ from those in the job advertisement.
Forms
actuality noun — What exists or happens in reality.
Similar words
- real
- Broader; can contrast genuine things with artificial ones.
- factual
- Emphasizes support by facts rather than existence itself.