Actual

1. (chiefly theology) relating to a person's acts or deeds; active, Practical [from 14th c.]
2. Existing in reality, not just potentially; really acted or acting; occurring in fact. [from 14th c.] Synonym: real Antonyms: potential, possible, virtual, speculative, conceivable, theoretical, nominal, hypothetical, estimated
3. (now rare) in action at the time being; now existing; current. [from 18th c.] Synonym: present Coordinate terms: future, past
4. Used as intensifier to emphasise a following noun; exact, specific, very. [from 18th c.]

Usage notes

• In most Romance, Slavic and Germanic languages the cognate of actual means “current”. This meaning has also been used in English since the sixteenth century but is now rare due to a semantic shift.
• The phrase in actual fact has been proscribed by some prescriptivist sources as redundant.^[1]

Synonyms

• Positive