actually

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UK/ˈæk(t)ʃᵿli/UK/ˈæk(t)ʃʊəli/UK, nonstandard/ˈæt͡ʃ.u.li/UK, nonstandard/ˈæt͡ʃ.ə.li/

adverb

In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively.

“B: Actually!”

Similar
above a bitall things consideredas a matter of factby rightcertainlycome to think of itde factodefinitely
Opposite
figurativelymetaphoricallyostensiblyvirtually
OriginMiddle English actually →
Very commonScrabble 13
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Meanings

actually1

adverbactually (not comparable)

alternative actially · alternative ackshually · alternative ackshully · alternative akshually · alternative akshully · alternative ackshly · alternative akshly

  1. modalnot comparableIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively.

    His promises did not correspond with what he actually did.

  2. not comparableobsoleteActively.

    Neither actually […] nor passively.

    1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI)
  3. not comparableobsolete or non-native speakers' EnglishCurrently; at the time.
    1 more example

    At the time whereof we are writing, though the Great George was on the throne and ladies wore gigots and large combs like tortoise-shell shovels in their hair, instead of the simple sleeves and lovely wreaths which are actually in fashion, the manners of the very polite world were not, I take it, essentially different from those of the present day: and their amusements pretty similar.

    1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC

actually2

interjection
  1. PhilippinesinformalIndicating affirmation, agreement.

    B: Actually!

    1 more example

    A: That was a pretty good movie.

    Synonyms: really

Synonyms & antonyms

interjectionIndicating affirmation, agreement.

Similar
really
Similar
above a bitall things consideredas a matter of factby rightcertainlycome to think of itde factodefinitelyde jurefact isforsoothfranklyhonestlyin actualityin all honestyindubitablyin factin faithin point of factin realityin truthindeedlegitimatelyliterallynot gonna lieproperlyreallyrightsimplysoothfastsoothlysurelyto be frankto be honestTBHtbhto tell the truthtrulytruthfullyundoubtedlyverilyvery muchwis
Opposite
figurativelymetaphoricallyostensiblyvirtually

More synonyms by meaning

adverbin actual fact

Similar
reallyproperly speakingstrictly speakingto be precise

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

Similar
in reality
Also see
all things consideredessentiallyforsoothfranklygrantedlyhonestlyin realitylegitimatelyliterallyratherreallysimplysoothfastsoothlystrictly speakingto be preciseto tell the truthtruthfullyveridicallyveryvery much

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

actually · adverb

  1. Middle Englishactually
  2. Englishactually

From Middle English actually, actuelly, equivalent to actual + -ly.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

actually · interjection

  1. Tagalogtalaga
  2. Englishactually

A calque of Tagalog talaga.

More words from Tagalog

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans eintlik
  • eintlikIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Ancient Greek ἀληθῶς, ἐτήτυμον
  • ἀληθῶς (alēthôs)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • ἐτήτυμον (etḗtumon)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • τῷ ὄντι (tōî ónti)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Arabic فِعْلًا
  • فِعْلًا (fiʕlan)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Basque benetan
  • benetanIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Bengali আসলে, বাস্তবে
  • আসলে (asle)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • বাস্তবে (bastobe)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Bulgarian всъщност, в действителност
  • всъщност (vsăštnost)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • в действителност (v dejstvitelnost)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Catalan de fet, en realitat
  • de fetIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • en realitatIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Chinese Mandarin 究竟, 其實 /其实
  • 究竟 (jiūjìng)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • 其實 /其实 (qíshí)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Czech skutečně, opravdu
  • skutečněIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • opravduIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Danish egentlig
  • egentligIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Dutch eigenlijk, in werkelijkheid
  • eigenlijkIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • in werkelijkheidIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • feitelijkIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Esperanto efektive, fakte
  • efektiveIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • fakteIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Estonian tegelikult
  • tegelikultIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Finnish itse asiassa, oikeastaan
  • itse asiassaIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • oikeastaanIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • varsinaisestiIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
French en fait, effectivement
  • en faitIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • effectivementIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
German eigentlich, tatsächlich
  • eigentlichIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • tatsächlichIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • in WirklichkeitIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • in WahrheitIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • wirklichIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Greek βασικά
  • βασικά (vasiká)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Hebrew למעשה
  • למעשה (le-ma'ase)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Hindi यों, वास्तव में
  • यों (yõ)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • वास्तव में (vāstav mẽ)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • असल में (asal mẽ)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • वाकई (vākaī)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • वाक़ई (vāqaī)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Hungarian tulajdonképpen, voltaképpen
  • tulajdonképpenIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • voltaképpenIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • igazábólIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • igazság szerintIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • ami azt illetiIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • valójábanIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Icelandic reyndar, raunar
  • reyndarIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • raunarIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Italian realmente, davvero
  • realmenteIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • davveroIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • in veritàIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • concretamenteIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • effettivamenteIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Japanese 本当に, 実際に
  • 本当に (hontō ni)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • 実際に (jissai ni)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • 実は (jitsu wa)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Korean 사실
  • 사실 (sasil)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Latin rēvērā
  • rēvērāIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Malay sebenarnya, sebetulnya
  • sebenarnyaIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • sebetulnyaIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • sesungguhnyaIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Māori iara
  • iaraIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Norwegian for øyeblikket, reelt sett
  • for øyeblikketIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • reelt settIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Norwegian Bokmål faktisk, egentlig
  • faktiskIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • egentligIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • i virkelighetenIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Persian در واقع, در حقیقت
  • در واقع (dar vâqe')In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • در حقیقت (dar haqiqat)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • راستش (râst-eš)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Polish właściwie, naprawdę
  • właściwieIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • naprawdęIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • faktycznieIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • autentycznieIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Portuguese na verdade, na realidade
  • na verdadeIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • na realidadeIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Punjabi ਵਾਕਿਆ
  • ਵਾਕਿਆ (vākiā)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Romanian de fapt
  • de faptIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Russian действи́тельно, вообще́-то
  • действи́тельно (dejstvítelʹno)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • вообще́-то (voobščé-to)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • на са́мом де́ле (na sámom déle)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • факти́чески (faktíčeski)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Spanish contrario a/de lo que se anticiparía, en puridad
  • contrario a/de lo que se anticiparíaIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • en puridadIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Swedish verkligen, egentligen
  • verkligenIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • egentligenIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • faktisktIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • i själva verketIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Thai จริงจริงแล้ว
  • จริงจริงแล้ว (jing jing lɛ́ɛo)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Turkish aslında
  • aslındaIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Ukrainian наспра́вді, ді́йсно
  • наспра́вді (nasprávdi)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • ді́йсно (díjsno)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Urdu در حقیقت, واقعی
  • در حقیقت (dar-haqīqat)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • واقعی (wāqaī)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • دراصل (dar-asl)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Vietnamese thực ra, thật ra
  • thực raIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • thật raIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • thực sự làIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Welsh mewn gwirionedd
  • mewn gwirioneddIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Yiddish פֿאַקטיש, בפּועל
  • פֿאַקטיש (faktish)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • בפּועל (bepoyel)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • בפּועל־ממש (bepoyel-mamesh)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • ממש (mamesh)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
  • אייגנטלעך (eygntlekh)In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively
Cite this entry
APA

actually. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/actually

MLA

“actually.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/actually. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “actually,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/actually.

Source: actually on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.