actually

adverb

ac·​tu·​al·​ly ˈak-ch(ə-w)ə-lē 

-sh(ə-w)ə-lē;

ˈaksh-lē, 

ˈaks-

1

: in act or in fact : really

trying to find out what actually happened

won't actually arrive for an hour

2

: in point of fact

—used to suggest something unexpected

was surprised to learn that she could actually speak German

Synonyms of actually

• honestly
• frankly
• really
• indeed

Examples of actually in a Sentence

actually, I'd rather spend the evening at home

I call her Aunt Emily, but she is actually my cousin, not my aunt.

Recent Examples on the Web

If a Chiefs fan had been told in July that quarterback Patrick Mahomes would miss the season finale, there actually would have been reason for optimism. —Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 5 Jan. 2026

Wolverhampton Wanderers, surely too far behind Leeds to catch them now, did win, but even in doing that actually helped widen the gap to West Ham United. —Beren Cross, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026

High temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday may be in the mid-low 50s with overnight lows actually staying above freezing. —Andrew Kozak, CBS News, 5 Jan. 2026

The president suggested that they were actually stolen. —ABC News, 4 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English actuelly, from actuel, actual actual + -ly -ly entry 2

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for actually

• contextually
• unusually
• dually

Kids Definition

actually

adverb

ac·​tu·​al·​ly ˈak-ch(ə-w)ə-lē 

ˈak-sh(ə-w)ə-lē

: in fact or in truth : really

she actually spoke Spanish

actually, I didn't want to go