Actual — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible

taking place in reality; not pretended or imitated

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/kˈæɹəl/

🇬🇧British English

/bˈʌɹɪʃ/

🇮🇳Indian English

/bˈʌɹɪʃ/

2 syllables Say it as /kˈæɹəl/.

Examples

the predicted temperature and the actual temperature were markedly different
actual and imagined conditions
we saw the actual wedding on television

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

existent real factual literal genuine

Antonyms

potential

Parts of Speech

adjective	presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible “the predicted temperature and the actual temperature were markedly different”
adjective	taking place in reality; not pretended or imitated “we saw the actual wedding on television”
adjective	being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something; ; - G.K.Chesterton “her actual motive”
adjective	existing in act or fact “rocks and trees...the actual world”
adjective	being or existing at the present moment “the ship's actual position is 22 miles due south of Key West”

Word Forms

actualize	verb	make real or concrete; give reality or substance to
actuality	noun	the state of actually existing objectively
existence	noun	the state or fact of existing
exist	verb	have an existence, be extant
genuineness	noun	the state of being genuine
literalness	noun	adhereing to the concrete construal of something
realness	noun	the state of being actual or real
reality	noun	the state of the world as it really is rather than as you might want it to be
factualness	noun	the quality of being actual or based on fact
factuality	noun	the quality of being actual or based on fact

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

tatsächlich

gegenwärtig tatsächlich vorhanden und nicht nur potenziell oder möglich

🇫🇷French

réel

existant actuellement dans les faits et non simplement potentiel ou possible

🇮🇹Italian

reale

attualmente esistente di fatto e non meramente potenziale o possibile

🇳🇱Dutch

feitelijk

momenteel feitelijk bestaat en niet louter potentieel of mogelijk

🇵🇹Portuguese

real

atualmente existentes de fato e não apenas potenciais ou possíveis

🇷🇺Russian

действительный

существующий в настоящее время фактически, а не просто потенциальный или возможный

India

🇮🇳Hindi

वास्तविक

वर्तमान में वास्तव में विद्यमान है न कि केवल संभावित या संभव

🇧🇩Bengali

প্রকৃত

বর্তমানে বাস্তবে বিদ্যমান এবং নিছক সম্ভাব্য বা সম্ভব নয়

🇮🇳Tamil

உண்மையான

தற்போது உண்மையில் உள்ளது மற்றும் சாத்தியம் அல்லது சாத்தியம் அல்ல

🇮🇳Telugu

అసలు

ప్రస్తుతం ఉనికిలో ఉంది మరియు కేవలం సంభావ్య లేదా సాధ్యం కాదు

🇮🇳Marathi

वास्तविक

सध्या अस्तित्वात आहे आणि केवळ संभाव्य किंवा शक्य नाही

🇮🇳Gujarati

વાસ્તવિક

હાલમાં હકીકતમાં અસ્તિત્વમાં છે અને માત્ર સંભવિત અથવા શક્ય નથી

🇮🇳Kannada

ನಿಜವಾದ

ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ವಾಸ್ತವವಾಗಿ ಅಸ್ತಿತ್ವದಲ್ಲಿದೆ ಮತ್ತು ಕೇವಲ ಸಂಭಾವ್ಯ ಅಥವಾ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಲ್ಲ

🇮🇳Malayalam

യഥാർത്ഥമായ

നിലവിൽ യഥാർത്ഥത്തിൽ നിലവിലുണ്ട്, കേവലം സാധ്യതയോ സാധ്യമോ അല്ല

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਅਸਲ

ਵਰਤਮਾਨ ਵਿੱਚ ਅਸਲ ਵਿੱਚ ਮੌਜੂਦ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਕੇਵਲ ਸੰਭਾਵੀ ਜਾਂ ਸੰਭਵ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

حقیقی

فی الحال حقیقت میں موجود ہے اور محض ممکنہ یا ممکن نہیں۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

实际的

目前确实存在，而不仅仅是潜在或可能的

🇯🇵Japanese

実際の

単なる潜在的または可能性ではなく、現在実際に存在する

🇰🇷Korean

실제

단순히 잠재적이거나 가능한 것이 아니라 실제로 현재 존재하는 것

🇻🇳Vietnamese

thật sự

hiện đang tồn tại trên thực tế và không chỉ đơn thuần là tiềm năng hoặc có thể

🇹🇭Thai

แท้จริง

ที่มีอยู่จริงในปัจจุบัน ไม่ใช่แค่มีศักยภาพหรือเป็นไปได้เท่านั้น

🇮🇩Indonesian

sebenarnya

fakta yang ada saat ini dan bukan sekadar potensi atau kemungkinan

🇵🇭Filipino

aktuwal

kasalukuyang umiiral sa katunayan at hindi lamang potensyal o posible

🇲🇾Malay

sebenar

pada masa ini wujud sebenarnya dan bukan semata-mata berpotensi atau mungkin

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

فِعلي

موجود في الوقت الحاضر في الواقع وليس مجرد محتمل أو ممكن

🇮🇷Persian

واقعی

در حال حاضر در واقعیت وجود دارد و نه صرفاً بالقوه یا ممکن

🇹🇷Turkish

gerçek

şu anda mevcut olan ve yalnızca potansiyel veya mümkün olmayan

🇮🇱Hebrew

מַמָשִׁי

כיום קיים למעשה ולא רק פוטנציאלי או אפשרי

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'actual'?

The primary meaning of 'actual' is 'presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'actual' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'actual' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'actual' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'actual' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'actual' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'actual' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'actual' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'actual' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'actual' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'actual' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted