actually

actually
actually
is one of a number of words, like definitely, really, surely, etc., which are used freely as emphasizers, either in relation to words or phrases

• (Often it wasn't actually a railway station but a special stopping place in the middle of nowhere —New Yorker, 1987)

or as sentence adverbs qualifying a complete statement

• (I'd like to see those scrap books again, actually —Lee Smith, 1983

‘I told you, I've got problems at work.’ ‘Actually, you didn't.’ Such uses are more common in speech, where they help with continuity and sentence balance. It is clearly a useful if somewhat overused word.


Modern English usage. 2014.

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  • Actually — Студийный альбом Pet Shop Boys …   Википедия

  • Actually — puede referirse a: La palabra de la lengua inglesa traducible por de hecho o realmente , aunque es muy frecuente su errónea traducción por el faux ami actualmente. Expresiones usadas en ciencias políticas: Actually existing socialism (socialismo… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Actually — Ac tu*al*ly, adv. 1. Actively. [Obs.] Neither actually . . . nor passively. Fuller. [1913 Webster] 2. In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • actually — index de facto Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • actually — (adv.) early 15c., in fact, in reality (as opposed to in possibility), from ACTUAL (Cf. actual) + LY (Cf. 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 …   Etymology dictionary

  • actually — [adj] truly real, existent absolutely, as a matter of fact, de facto, genuinely, indeed, in fact, in point of fact, in reality, in truth, literally, really, veritably, very; concept 582 …   New thesaurus

  • actually — ► ADVERB 1) as the truth or facts of a situation. 2) as a matter of fact; even …   English terms dictionary

  • actually — [ak′cho͞o əl ē, ak′sho͞oəl ē; ] often [, ak′chə lē, akshəlē] adv. as a matter of actual fact; really …   English World dictionary

  • actually — adverb 1 (sentence adverb) spoken used when you are giving an opinion or adding new information to what you have just said: I ve known Barbara for years. Since we were babies, actually. | I do actually think that things have improved. | We had… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • actually — [[t]æ̱ktʃuəli[/t]] ♦ 1) ADV: ADV before v, ADV group (emphasis) You use actually to indicate that a situation exists or happened, or to emphasize that it is true. One afternoon, I grew bored and actually fell asleep for a few minutes... Interest… …   English dictionary

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