actual
English edit
Etymology edit
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 edit
- IPA(key): /ˈæk(t)ʃ(u)əl/
- (dated, Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈæktj(ʊ)əl/
- (colloquial) IPA(key): /ˈæt͡ʃəl/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -æktʃuəl, -æktʃəl, -ækʃuəl, -ækʃəl
Adjective edit
actual (not comparable)
- (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.
- 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.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
- 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.
- 2013 June 7, Gary Younge, “Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 18:
- They also exposed the blatant discrepancy between the west's professed values and actual foreign policies.
- (now rare) in action at the time being; now existing; current. [from 18th c.]
- 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!
- 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 edit
- 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 edit
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
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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.
Noun edit
actual (countable and uncountable, 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, 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.)
- (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 edit
References edit
- ^ Christopher Howse, Richard Preston (2007) She Literally Exploded: The Daily Telegraph Infuriating Phrasebook, London: Constable and Robinson, →ISBN, page 3.
Further reading edit
- “actual”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “actual”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Anagrams edit
Catalan edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
actual m or f (masculine and feminine plural actuals)
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “actual” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “actual”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
- “actual” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “actual” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Galician edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
actual m or f (plural actuais)
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “actual” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.
Interlingua edit
Adjective edit
actual
- present, current
- factual
- (philosophy) actual, real
Related terms edit
Middle English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Anglo-Norman actuel and Late Latin āctuālis; equivalent to act + -al.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
actual
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
References edit
- “actūā̆l, -ē̆l, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Occitan edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Audio (Béarn) (file)
Adjective edit
actual m (feminine singular actuala, masculine plural actuals, feminine plural actualas)
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Portuguese edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
- Hyphenation: ac‧tu‧al
Adjective edit
actual m or f (plural actuais)
- Pre-reform spelling (until Brazil 1943/Portugal 1990) of atual. Still used in countries where the agreement hasn't come into effect; may occur as a sporadic misspelling.
Romanian edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from French actuel, from Latin actualis. By surface analysis, act + -ual.
Adjective edit
actual m or n (feminine singular actuală, masculine plural actuali, feminine and neuter plural actuale)
Declension edit
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 edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
actual (comparative mair actual, superlative maist actual)
References edit
- Eagle, Andy, ed. (2016) The Online Scots Dictionary, Scots Online.
Spanish edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin actuālis. Cognate with English actual although a false friend.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
actual m or f (masculine and feminine plural actuales)
- present, current
- factual
- (philosophy) actual, real
- 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 edit
- 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 edit
Related terms edit
Noun edit
actual m (plural actuales)
- (preceded by del) of the current month, year, etc.
See also edit
Further reading edit
- “actual”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014