actual

(ăk'chū-əl)
adj.

1. Existing and not merely potential or possible. See synonyms at real¹.
2. Being, existing, or acting at the present moment; current.
3. Based on fact: an actual account of the accident.

[Middle English, from Old French, active, from Late Latin āctuālis, from Latin āctus, past participle of agere, to drive, do.]

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is often used redundantly in ways that add nothing to the meaning:

Mr Healey said the press did not print Labour's actual policies. 'Not a sausage.'—Times, 1981.

Examples of legitimate use are: He gathered there were few actual artists in the room [as distinct from would-be artists]—Beryl Bainbridge, 1980 / The actual total [as distinct from the provisional total]

was surely higher—Scientific American, 1980.

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adjective

1. Occurring or existing in act or fact: existent, extant. See be, real/imaginary.
2. Not counterfeit or copied: authentic, bona fide, genuine, good, indubitable, original, real, true, undoubted, unquestionable. See true/false.
3. In agreement or correspondence with fact: real, true. See real/imaginary.

adj

Definition: existing at the present time
Antonyms: hypothetical, imaginary, nominal, past, reputed, theoretical, unreal

adj

Definition: truly existing, real
Antonyms: counterfeit, false, fictitious, imaginary, legendary, pretended, unreal

In modal logic the actual world is the world as it is, contrasted with other possible worlds, representing ways it might have been. The central problem is to understand how the actual state of the world is to be characterized, except in terms that themselves make reference to alternative possibilities.

(Commtalk) Radio call sign for commander of a unit. If the unit call sign is "Brownbag" the unit commander will be "Brownbag Actual".

IN BRIEF: Presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible.

An artist is a dreamer consenting to dream of the actual world. — George Santayana

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adjective
adjective, Brit

Denoting the genuine or authentic thing, in phr. your actual. (1966 —) .
Times There won't be any room for your actual horny-handed sons of toil in the TUC; there'll be too many sharp-suited managers (1976).

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See words rhyming with "actual."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Actual.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - faktisk, virkelig, reel

idioms:

• actual bodily harm    faktisk legemsbeskadigelse
• in actual fact    rent faktisk

Nederlands (Dutch)
bestaand, eigenlijk, actueel

Français (French)
adj. - réel, vrai, actuel, véritable, concret, positif, exact, en question, vraiment, (Fin) chiffres réels

idioms:

• actual bodily harm    dommage corporel réel
• in actual fact    effectivement, en fait

Deutsch (German)
adj. - tatsächlich, wirklich, aktuell, bestehend, zeitgemäß, faktisch, vorliegend

idioms:

• actual bodily harm    wirkliche Körperverletzung
• in actual fact    tatsächlich

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - πραγματικός, υπαρκτός, αληθινός, τρέχων, τωρινός

idioms:

• actual bodily harm    εσκεμμένη σωματική βλάβη
• in actual fact    στην πραγματικότητα, γεγονός είναι ότι

Italiano (Italian)
effettivo, reale, presente, corrente, proprio

idioms:

• actual bodily harm (legal)    lesioni corporali volontarie

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - real, verdadeiro

idioms:

• actual bodily harm    danos (m pl) pessoais reais

Русский (Russian)
действительный, фактический, настоящий, существенный

idioms:

• actual bodily harm    серьезные телесные повреждения

Español (Spanish)
adj. - verdadero, real, actual, existente, concreto

idioms:

• actual bodily harm    daño corporal real
• in actual fact    en realidad

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - faktisk, befintlig, nuvarande

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
实际的, 现行的, 真实的

idioms:

• actual bodily harm    实际身体伤害
• in actual fact    事实上

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 實際的, 現行的, 真實的

idioms:

• actual bodily harm    實際身體傷害
• in actual fact    事實上

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 현실의, 현행의

idioms:

• in actual fact    사실상

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 現実の, 真の, 現在の
n. - ドキュメンタリー

idioms:

• actual bodily harm    体への悪影響
• in actual fact    実際に

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) حقيقي, واقعي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮ממשי, ריאלי, של ההווה‬

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