actuality

noun

ac·​tu·​al·​i·​ty ˌak-chə-ˈwa-lə-tē 

ˌak-shə-

plural actualities

1

: the quality or state of being actual

2

: something that is actual : fact, reality

possible risks which have been seized upon as actualities

—T. S. Eliot

Phrases

in actuality

: in actual fact

Synonyms

• existence

Examples of actuality in a Sentence

The actuality was quite different from the theory.

the actuality of the Abominable Snowman is not taken seriously by scientists

Recent Examples on the Web

In actuality, this was more like the adults rushing to stop a toddler who had announced his intention to put a fork in the light socket before any further damage could be done. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 20 Aug. 2025

In actuality, the machines can feel intimidating to use, and a lot of that is based on the machine’s lid design. —Emily Johnson, Bon Appetit Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025

Despite an up-and-down two weeks of the preseason, his status, in actuality, is… mostly steady. —Jesse Newell, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025

Had the case not crossed his desk, the defendants may never have known that their case was hardly a mere legal challenge but, in actuality, a case with national security importance. —Michael Patrick Flanagan, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English actualite "capacity for action, effective power," borrowed from Medieval Latin āctuālitāt-, āctuālitās, from Late Latin āctuālis actual + Latin -itāt-, -itās -ity

First Known Use

1587, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for actuality

• angiography
• laryngoscopy
• ostracod
• predominately
• sensuality
• stochastically
• abc
• absentee
• addressee
• adoptee
• agouti
• allottee