Actually

Part of speech: adverb

Pronunciation: /ˈæk.t͡ʃʊ.ə.li/

Definitions

1. In reality or in fact, as opposed to what was expected, assumed, or claimed
2. In truth or indeed, this term serves to emphasize the factuality of an assertion despite any preceding doubt or disbelief
3. This expression highlights the genuine nature of a statement, often correcting misconceptions or clarifying misunderstanding

Etymology: The most surprising fact here is that this sense of "actually" may have been borrowed from another language. Its basic English history is ordinary: it comes from Middle English "actually" or "actuelly", formed from "actual" with the suffix "-ly". The older sense of "actual" was "existing in fact" or "real," so "actually" originally meant "in actual fact," which explains its use in correcting or clarifying a statement. The sense this entry describes, using the word to emphasize that a claim is genuine or to correct a misunderstanding, is a calque of Tagalog "talaga," meaning that English speakers adopted a meaning modeled on the Tagalog word. A calque copies the meaning of a foreign word using native materials, so the English word took on a sense that mirrors "talaga" without being a direct loan of its form.

Synonyms: truly, really, genuinely, indeed, certainly

Antonyms: falsely, hypothetically, theoretically, supposedly, allegedly