actual
/ˈækʃuəl/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.85 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Existing in reality, not just potentially; really acted or acting; occurring in fact.
adj
in action at the time being; now existing; current.
Example Sentences
- "In this slumbry agitation, besides her walking, and other actuall performances, what (at any time) haue you heard her say?"
- "Let your holy and pious intention be actual; that is […] by a special prayer or action, […] given to God."
- "Apparently, the holy Doctor was referring to actual, rather than original, sin; yet the basis of his argument for Mary's holiness, the divine maternity, would logically lead to the conclusion that she was free from original sin also."
- "the actual cost of goods; the actual case under discussion"
- "The actual government expenses dramatically exceed the budget."
- "The original family who had begun to build a palace to rival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, so that the actual structure which had come down to posterity retained the secret magic of a promise rather than the overpowering splendour of a great architectural achievement."
Etymology
From Middle English actual, actuel (“active”), from Anglo-Norman actuel, actual, and its source Late Latin actuālis (“active, practical”), from Latin actus (“act, action, performance”), from agere (“to do; to act”) + -alis (“-al”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti, from the root *h₂eǵ-. By surface analysis, act + -u- + -al.