actually

adverb

ac·tu·al·ly | \ ˈak-ch(ə-w)ə-lē

, -sh(ə-w)ə-lē; ˈaksh-lē, ˈaks-\

Definition of actually

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

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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

There are seriously a ton of signs that point to the fact that a Shawn/Billie collab mighttttt actually happen. — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, "All the Signs That Shawn Mendes and Billie Eilish are Working on a Collab Together," 4 Apr. 2019 What actually happened, however, was a bit more complicated. — Adam Rathe, Town & Country, "How a Sheika From the UAE Turned Dubai's Unassuming Neighbor Into an Art World Destination," 26 Mar. 2019 As those familiar with Russian history know, the October Revolution actually happened in November. — Spencer Jakab, WSJ, "In Russia, Agreement Breaks You," 5 Feb. 2019 The majority of the Salem witch trials didn’t actually happen in Salem Town — what is known as Salem today — but in Salem Village, an inland hamlet that was renamed Danvers in 1752. — Dylan Scott, Vox, "Trump’s favorite slander against Robert Mueller’s investigation has a very long history.," 26 Jan. 2019 However, royal commentator Omid Scobie has pointed out that the power of social media has actually led to a plethora of charity donations thanks to Meghan. — Amy Mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "A Hashtag in Meghan Markle's Honor Has Helped Raise Charitable Donations All Over the World," 30 Mar. 2019 And unlike the baroque Queen's taste, this party is actually affordable. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Versailles Is Putting on a Rave in the Hall of Mirrors," 29 Mar. 2019 Mice, from either the dirt or sewer, can actually travel through these lines into wall and floor cavities and pop out into your house. — Blair Donovan, Country Living, "How to Get Rid of Mice: The Ultimate Guide to a Rodent-Free Home," 28 Mar. 2019 Members of the Sackler family are defendants in some of the lawsuits but were not actually parties to the Oklahoma case. — Geoff Mulvihill, The Seattle Times, "Maker of OxyContin agrees to $270M settlement in Oklahoma," 27 Mar. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'actually.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.