actual

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English

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Etymology

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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-.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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actual (not comparable)

  1. (chiefly theology) relating to a person's acts or deeds; active, practical [from 14th c.]
    • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
      In this slumbry agitation, besides her walking, and other actuall performances, what (at any time) haue you heard her say?
    • 1650, Jeremy Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living:
      Let your holy and pious intention be actual; that is […] by a special prayer or action, […] given to God.
    • 1946, The American Ecclesiastical Review, volume 114:
      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.
  2. Existing in reality, not just potentially; really acted or acting; occurring in fact. [from 14th c.]
    Synonym: real
    Antonyms: potential, possible, virtual, speculative, conceivable, theoretical, nominal, hypothetical, estimated
    the actual cost of goods;  the actual case under discussion
    The actual government expenses dramatically exceed the budget.
  3. (now rare) in action at the time being; now existing; current. [from 18th c.]
    Synonym: present
    Coordinate terms: future, past
    • 1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the revolution in France:
      If this be your actual situation, compared to the situation to which you were called, as it were by the voice of God and man, I cannot find it in my heart to congratulate you on the choice you have made, or the success which has attended your endeavours.
    • c. 1793, Edward Gibbon, Memoirs of My Life, Penguin, published 1990, page 85:
      To my actual feelings it seems incredible that I could ever believe that I believed in Transubstantiation!
  4. Used as intensifier to emphasise a following noun; exact, specific, very. [from 18th c.]
    • 2013 August 3, “The machine of a new soul”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
      [H]ow the neurons are organised in these lobes and ganglia remains obscure. Yet this is the level of organisation that does the actual thinking—and is, presumably, the seat of consciousness.

Usage notes

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  • In most Romance, Slavic and Germanic languages the cognate of actual means “current”. This meaning has also been used in English since the sixteenth century but is now rare due to a semantic shift.
  • The phrase in actual fact has been proscribed by some prescriptivist sources as redundant.[1]

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun

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actual (countable and uncountable, plural actuals)

  1. an actual, real one; notably:
    1. (finance) something actually received; real receipts, as distinct from estimated ones.
    2. (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, this is Charlie One. Come in, over.
      The radio operator is requesting to speak to the commander of the unit under the call sign "Bravo Six", as opposed to any available member of the unit.
  2. (uncountable) Reality, usually with the definite article.
    • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “A London Life”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 161:
      There was that desolate air about the chamber which is peculiar to an ill-furnished London room: cities need luxuries, were it only to conceal the actual.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Christopher Howse, Richard Preston (2007) She Literally Exploded: The Daily Telegraph Infuriating Phrasebook, London: Constable and Robinson, →ISBN, page 3.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Catalan

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin actuālis.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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actual m or f (masculine and feminine plural actuals)

  1. present, current
  2. factual

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Galician

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Etymology

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From Latin actuālis.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /aktuˈal/ [ɑk.t̪uˈɑɫ]
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Hyphenation: ac‧tu‧al

Adjective

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actual m or f (plural actuais)

  1. current, present
  2. factual, real, actual

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Interlingua

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Adjective

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actual

  1. present, current
  2. factual
  3. (philosophy) actual, real
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Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Anglo-Norman actuel and Late Latin āctuālis; equivalent to act +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /aktiu̯ˈaːl/, /ˈaktiu̯al/, /aktiu̯ˈɛːl/, /ˈaktiu̯ɛl/

Adjective

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actual

  1. actual, real, true
  2. (philosophy, theology) active

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • English: actual
  • Scots: actual

References

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Occitan

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Latin actuālis.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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actual m (feminine singular actuala, masculine plural actuals, feminine plural actualas)

  1. current

Derived terms

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Portuguese

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin āctuālis.

Pronunciation

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  • Hyphenation: ac‧tu‧al

Adjective

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actual m or f (plural actuais)

  1. Pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1990 in Portugal) of atual. Still used in countries where the agreement hasn't come into effect; may occur as a sporadic misspelling.

Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French actuel, from Latin actualis. By surface analysis, act +‎ -ual.

Adjective

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actual m or n (feminine singular actuală, masculine plural actuali, feminine and neuter plural actuale)

  1. present-day

Declension

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singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative/
accusative 		indefinite actual actuală actuali actuale
definite actualul actuala actualii actualele
genitive/
dative 		indefinite actual actuale actuali actuale
definite actualului actualei actualilor actualelor

Scots

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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actual (comparative mair actual, superlative maist actual)

  1. actual

References

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Spanish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin actuālis. Cognate with English actual although a false friend.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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actual m or f (masculine and feminine plural actuales)

  1. present, current
  2. factual
  3. (philosophy) actual, real
  4. present-day
    San Pablo nació en Tarso de Cilicia en la actual Turquía.
    Saint Paul was born in Tarsus of Cilicia in present-day Turkey.

Usage notes

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  • Actual is a false friend, and does not mean the same as the English word actual. Spanish equivalents are shown above, in the "Translations" section of the English entry actual.

Derived terms

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Noun

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actual m (plural actuales)

  1. (preceded by del) of the current month, year, etc.
    Synonyms: corriente, presente
    El día veinte del actual.
    The twentieth of this [month].

See also

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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