actual
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Middle English actual, actuel (“‘active’”) < Old French actuel, actual < Late Latin actualis (“‘active, practical’”) < Latin actus (“‘act, action, performance’”), < agere (“‘to do; to act’”)) + -alis '-al'.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Adjective
actual (not comparable)
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Positive |
Superlative |
- Existing in act or reality, not just potentially; really acted or acting; occurring in fact
- the actual cost of goods
- the actual case under discussion
- Factual, real, not just apparant or even false
- The actual government expenses dramatically excede the budget
- In action at the time being; now existing.
- The actual situation of the world economy is worse then anyone expected a year ago
- (obsolete) Active, not passive
- Used to emphasise a noun or verb, whether something is real or metaphorical.
[edit] Usage notes
- In some foreign languages the counterpart of actual also means “modern”. This meaning occurs mainly in English written by allophones, but is nonstandard English.
- The phrase in actual fact is criticised by many as redundant.[1]
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Antonyms
- (existing in act or reality): potential, possible, virtual, speculative, conceivable, theoretical, nominal, hypothetical, estimated
- (in action at the time being): future, past
[edit] Derived terms
terms derived from actual (adjective)
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
existing in act or reality, not just potentially
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factual, real, not just apparent or even false
in action at the time being
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emphasise a noun
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
[edit] See also
[edit] Noun
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Singular |
Plural |
actual (plural actuals)
- An actual, real one; notably:
- (finance) Something actually received; real receipts, as distinct from estimated ones.
- (military) A radio callsign modifier that specifies the commanding officer of the unit or asset denoted by the remainder of the callsign and not the officer's assistant or other designee.
- "Bravo Six Actual, Snakebite leader" (The person with the callsign "Snakebite leader" requests to speak to the commander of company Bravo and not the radio operator.)
[edit] References
- Notes:
- ^ “She Literally Exploded : The Daily Telegraph Infuriating Phrasebook”, Christopher Howse and Richard Preston (Constable‧London, 2007; ISBN 978‒1‒84529‒675‒9), page 3
[edit] External links
- actual in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- actual in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
[edit] Anagrams
[edit] Catalan
[edit] Adjective
actual m. and f. (plural actuals)
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Singular |
Plural |
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Galician
[edit] Adverb
actual m. and f. (plural actuais)
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Spanish
[edit] Adjective
actual m. and f. (plural actuales)
[edit] Usage notes
- actual is a false friend, and does not mean the same as English word actual (“‘real; non-imaginary’”). Spanish equivalents are shown above, in the “Translations” section of the English entry actual.
