actual

1. 1.

   presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible

   “the predicted temperature and the actual temperature were markedly different”

   “actual and imagined conditions”

   Synonymsexistent

   Antonymspotential

   Similareffective
2. 2.

   taking place in reality; not pretended or imitated

   “we saw the actual wedding on television”

   “filmed the actual beating”

   Similarreal
3. 3.

   being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something

   “her actual motive”

   “a literal solitude like a desert”

   “a genuine dilemma”

   Synonymsgenuineliteralreal

   Similartrue
4. 4.

   existing in act or fact

   “rocks and trees...the actual world”

   “actual heroism”

   “the actual things that produced the emotion you experienced”

   Synonymsfactual

   Similarreal
5. 5.

   being or existing at the present moment

   “the ship's actual position is 22 miles due south of Key West”

   Similarcurrent

Questions about actual

What does actual mean?

actual means "presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible". That is the primary sense; the word has 5 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in actual?

actual has 3 syllables: ac-tu-al. The stress falls on "ac". In IPA it is /ˈæktʃəwəl/.

What is another word for actual?

Close synonyms include existent, genuine, literal, real, factual. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

What is the opposite of actual?

The recorded antonyms are potential.

Is actual a common word?

actual is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.