Actually


as an or existing fact; really.
Contemporary Examples

But the idea that he thinks this can just stop there is preposterous, not to say revolting, actually.
Wayne LaPierre, Blaming Everything but Guns Michael Tomasky December 20, 2012

While Hayek, by contrast, is more slippery and much less helpful when it comes to determining what government should actually do.
Keynes Trumps Hayek in Debate Felix Salmon November 8, 2011

Moreover, not all of the identified “rudeness” is actually rude; it’s just different customs.
Are Americans Really So Rude? Megan McArdle October 2, 2012

I actually don’t think that that’s why people read my books.
The Girls of Paris, China Sandra McElwaine June 18, 2009

“It was actually the other kid that said something,” Kristin says.
Friday Night Lights Out: The Concussion Debate Hits the Texas Youth Leagues Pete Freedman October 25, 2013

Historical Examples

There is such an uneasiness in Paris, that we have actually a run of confidence upon us!
A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens

He has the soul of a merchant tailor, actually, but not the tailor’s manhood.
The Spenders Harry Leon Wilson

Some of them were actually ill, or had at home a sick husband or a sick daughter.
The Golden House Charles Dudley Warner

In some countries it actually took the place of the old tribal dialect.
Ancient Man Hendrik Willem van Loon

And so it has actually proved to be the case with these very Commissioners.
Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 63, No. 391, May, 1848 Various

adverb

as an actual fact; really
(as sentence modifier): actually, I haven’t seen him

at present
(informal) a parenthetic filler used to add slight emphasis: I don’t know, actually
adv.

early 15c., “in fact, in reality” (as opposed to in possibility), from actual + -ly (2). Meaning “actively, vigorously” is from mid-15c.; that of “at this time, at present” is from 1660s. As an intensive added to a statement and suggesting “as a matter of fact, really, in truth” it is attested from 1762.

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