# actual

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈækʃuəl/ · frequency rank #1,474

## Definitions
1. relating to a person's acts or deeds; active, practical
2. Existing in reality, not just potentially; really acted or acting; occurring in fact.
3. in action at the time being; now existing; current.
4. Used as intensifier to emphasise a following noun; exact, specific, very.

## Etymology
From Middle English actual, actuel (“active”), from Anglo-Norman actuel, actual, and its source Late Latin actuālis (“active, practical”), from Latin actus (“act, action, performance”), from agere (“to do; to act”) + -alis (“-al”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti, from the root *h₂eǵ-. By surface analysis, act + -u- + -al.

## Easily confused with
- **annual** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/actual-vs-annual)
- **astral** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/actual-vs-astral)
- **actually** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/actual-vs-actually)

## Common misspellings (8)
`acctual`, `actaul`, `acttual`, `actuall`, `actula`, `acutal`, `atcual`, `catual`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/actual