Actually — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

in actual fact

used to imply that one would expect the fact to be the opposite of that stated; surprisingly

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/kˌæɹəlˈɪniənz/

🇬🇧British English

/bˈʌɹəʊz/

🇮🇳Indian English

/bˈʌɹəʊz/

3 syllables Say it as /kˌæɹəlˈɪniənz/.

Examples

to be nominally but not actually independent
no one actually saw the shark
large meteorites actually come from the asteroid belt

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

really in reality

Parts of Speech

adverb	in actual fact “to be nominally but not actually independent”
adverb	used to imply that one would expect the fact to be the opposite of that stated; surprisingly “you may actually be doing the right thing by walking out”
adverb	at the present moment “the transmission screen shows the picture that is actually on the air”
adverb	as a sentence modifier to add slight emphasis “actually, we all help clear up after a meal”

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Genau genommen

in der Tat

🇫🇷French

en fait

🇪🇸Spanish

de hecho

en realidad

🇮🇹Italian

In realtà

in realtà

🇳🇱Dutch

Eigenlijk

in feite

🇵🇹Portuguese

na verdade

🇷🇺Russian

на самом деле

India

🇮🇳Hindi

वास्तव में

वास्तविक तथ्य में

🇧🇩Bengali

আসলে

বাস্তবে

🇮🇳Tamil

உண்மையில்

உண்மையான உண்மையில்

🇮🇳Telugu

నిజానికి

అసలు నిజానికి

🇮🇳Marathi

प्रत्यक्षात

🇮🇳Gujarati

ખરેખર

વાસ્તવિક હકીકતમાં

🇮🇳Kannada

ವಾಸ್ತವವಾಗಿ

ನಿಜವಾದ ವಾಸ್ತವವಾಗಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

യഥാർത്ഥത്തിൽ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਅਸਲ ਵਿੱਚ

🇵🇰Urdu

اصل میں

اصل حقیقت میں

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

实际上

事实上

🇯🇵Japanese

実は

実際のところ

🇰🇷Korean

실제로

실제로는

🇻🇳Vietnamese

Thực ra

trên thực tế

🇹🇭Thai

จริงๆ แล้ว

ในความเป็นจริง

🇮🇩Indonesian

Sebenarnya

pada kenyataannya

🇵🇭Filipino

sa totoo lang

sa aktwal na katotohanan

🇲🇾Malay

sebenarnya

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

في الحقيقة

في الواقع

🇮🇷Persian

در واقع

🇹🇷Turkish

Aslında

aslında

🇮🇱Hebrew

לְמַעֲשֶׂה

למעשה

Test Yourself1 / 3

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

The primary meaning of 'actually' is 'in actual fact'.

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

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

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

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

Community Poll1 / 6

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

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'actually' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

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

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

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

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

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

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

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

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted