# actually
## English
### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈak.t͡ʃ(ʊ.)(ə.)li/, /ˈak.ʃ(ʊ.)(ə.)li/
** (Conservative RP) IPA: /ˈak.t͡ʃʊ.ə.lɪ/, /ˈak.tjʊ.ə.lɪ/
** (UK, nonstandard) IPA: /ˈat͡ʃ.u.li/, /ˈat͡ʃ.ə.li/, /ˈat͡ʃ.li/
* (General American) IPA: /ˈæk.t͡ʃ(u.)(ə.)li/, /ˈæk.ʃ(u.)(ə.)li/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -ækt͡ʃʊəli

### Etymology 1

From Middle English actualy, actuelly, equivalent to actual +‎ -ly.

#### Adverb

actually (not comparable)
* (modal) In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively.
    His promises did not correspond with what he actually did.
* (obsolete) Actively.
** 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI):Neither actually […] nor passively.
* (obsolete) Currently; at the time.
** 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:At the time whereof we are writing, though the Great George was on the throne and ladies wore gigots and large combs like tortoise-shell shovels in their hair, instead of the simple sleeves and lovely wreaths which are actually in fashion, the manners of the very polite world were not, I take it, essentially different from those of the present day: and their amusements pretty similar.

##### Usage notes

* In other European languages, cognates of actually mean "now" or "currently"; (e.g., Portuguese "atualmente", Spanish "actualmente", French "actuellement", German "aktuell", Italian "attualmente", Czech "aktuálně"), making it a false friend. This leads many non-native speakers of English to use "actually" when they mean "now" or "currently".
* Some commentators have:
** remarked upon the irony that this qualifier of veracity often introduces an utter lie; and,
** noted that in many cases, actually functions as little more than a vacuous emphatic utterance.
* In practice, actually and its synonyms are often used to insinuate that the following is either unusual or contrary to a norm or preceding assumption, or to merely preface an overconfident opinion contrasting a previous statement or norm (as per 'vacuous emphasis' note above).
    This is actually a really beautiful song. (contrasting opinion)
    Actually, I'm not from France – I'm from Switzerland. (contrary from assumption)
    At the check-out, the cashier actually greeted me for once. (contrary from norm)

##### Alternative forms

* actially (nonstandard)
* ackshually, ackshully, akshully, ackshly, akshly (eye dialect)

##### Synonyms

* (in act or in fact): as a matter of fact, in reality, literally, really, truthfully; see also Thesaurus:actually

##### Derived terms

* exactually
* well actually

##### Translations
### Etymology 2

A calque of Tagalog talaga.

#### Interjection

actually
* (Philippines, informal) Indicating affirmation, agreement.
    A: That was a pretty good movie.
    B: Actually!
    Synonym: really (US)

### References

* ↑ Christopher Howse, Richard Preston (2007) She Literally Exploded: The Daily Telegraph Infuriating Phrasebook, London: Constable and Robinson, →ISBN, page 3.
* ↑ ibidem, page 4
* ↑ Pau Miranda (2023 July 17) “English words that only make sense in Filipino”, in Inquirer.net‎

## Middle English
### Adverb

actually
* Alternative form of actualy

## Scots
### Adverb

actually
* actually

### References

* Eagle, Andy, ed. (2016) The Online Scots Dictionary, Scots Online.