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
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
But few of these cases have actually gone to trial, with Tesla often settling claims outside the courtroom.
—
Joel Rose, NPR, 14 July 2025
Despite breakthrough innovation over the last several years, buildings still can’t actually speak to us.
—Riaz Raihan, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
In their interviews with town businessmen, the Sodality women try to convince the men that more hygienic practices will actually improve their bottom line, but the men are skeptical: why do anything new?
—Deborah Williams
july 14, Literary Hub, 14 July 2025
As an overall rule, faculty members in the humanities and the interpretive social sciences — people who don’t need labs or major datasets or large-scale computing power — are the only ones whose costs are actually covered by tuition and endowment payout.
—Clifford Ando, Chicago Tribune, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for actually
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Joel Rose, NPR, 14 July 2025
Despite breakthrough innovation over the last several years, buildings still can’t actually speak to us.
—Riaz Raihan, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
In their interviews with town businessmen, the Sodality women try to convince the men that more hygienic practices will actually improve their bottom line, but the men are skeptical: why do anything new?
—Deborah Williams
july 14, Literary Hub, 14 July 2025
As an overall rule, faculty members in the humanities and the interpretive social sciences — people who don’t need labs or major datasets or large-scale computing power — are the only ones whose costs are actually covered by tuition and endowment payout.
—Clifford Ando, Chicago Tribune, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for actually
Cite this Entry
“Actually.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/actually. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share