actually

Adverb (4)

1. in actual fact“to be nominally but not actually independent”“no one actually saw the shark”“large meteorites actually come from the asteroid belt”Synonyms: really
2. used to imply that one would expect the fact to be the opposite of that stated; surprisingly“you may actually be doing the right thing by walking out”“she actually spoke Latin”“they thought they made the rules but in reality they were only puppets”“people who seem stand-offish are in reality often simply nervous”Synonyms: in reality
3. at the present moment“the transmission screen shows the picture that is actually on the air”
4. as a sentence modifier to add slight emphasis“actually, we all help clear up after a meal”“actually, I haven't seen the film”“I'm not all that surprised actually”“she hasn't proved to be too satisfactory, actually”