actually
/ˈæk.t͡ʃʊ.ə.li/
"actually" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“actually” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #302. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #302
- frequency rank, English
- 3,931
- “A” headwords
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively.
Corpus desk
Index EN-actually · actually · English
actually · rank #302 · 10 variants · 3 confusables
- FREQ-CORE #302
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
- VAR-MID 10 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,931
- PHOTO-FINISH yes
Nearest frequency peer: yes (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Rank peers near misspelling magnet “actually”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- try
try
99,702 corpus weight
- went
went
99,701 corpus weight
- yes
yes
99,700 corpus weight
- actually
actually
99,699 corpus weight
- American
American
99,698 corpus weight
- later
later
99,697 corpus weight
What this shows “actually” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | actually |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /ˈæk.t͡ʃʊ.ə.li/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #302 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “actually”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 10 spelling variants around actually (IPA /ˈæk.t͡ʃʊ.ə.li/), anadverb. Corpus frequency is #302 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for actually, with forms such as "acctually", "actaully", and "acttually". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "annually", "actual", "actuality", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English actually, actuelly, equivalent to actual + -ly. The correct English form is actually, spelled A-C-T-U-A-L-L-Y.
Definition
- 1In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively.
- 2Actively.
- 3Currently; at the time.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how actually appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
His promises did not correspond with what he actually did.
Neither actually […] nor passively.
Etymology
From Middle English actually, actuelly, equivalent to actual + -ly.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- acctually
- actaully
- acttually
- actuallyy
- actualy
- actualyl
- actulaly
- acutally
- atcually
- catually
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of actually - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "actually"?
What does "actually" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "actually"?
How do you pronounce "actually"?
What is the origin of the word "actually"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "actually", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).