Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Actual \Ac"tu*al\ (#; 135), a. [OE. actuel, F. actuel, L.
   actualis, fr. agere to do, act.]
   1. Involving or comprising action; active. [Obs.]

            Her walking and other actual performances. --Shak.

            Let your holy and pious intention be actual; that is
            . . . by a special prayer or action, . . . given to
            God.                                  --Jer. Taylor.

   2. Existing in act or reality; really acted or acting; in
      fact; real; -- opposed to {potential}, {possible},
      {virtual}, {speculative}, {conceivable}, {theoretical}, or
      {nominal}; as, the actual cost of goods; the actual case
      under discussion.

   3. In action at the time being; now exiting; present; as the
      actual situation of the country.

   {Actual cautery}. See under {Cautery}.

   {Actual sin} (Theol.), that kind of sin which is done by
      ourselves in contradistinction to ``original sin.''

   Syn: Real; genuine; positive; certain. See {Real}.

Actual \Ac"tu*al\, n. (Finance)
   Something actually received; real, as distinct from
   estimated, receipts. [Cant]

         The accounts of revenues supplied . . . were not real
         receipts: not, in financial language, ``actuals,'' but
         only Egyptian budget estimates.          --Fortnightly
                                                  Review.

Source : WordNet®

actual
     adj 1: presently existing in fact and not merely potential or
            possible; "the predicted temperature and the actual
            temperature were markedly different"; "actual and
            imagined conditions" [syn: {existent}] [ant: {potential}]
     2: taking place in reality; not pretended or imitated; "we saw
        the actual wedding on television"; "filmed the actual
        beating"
     3: being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of
        something; "her actual motive"; "a literal solitude like a
        desert"- G.K.Chesterton; "a genuine dilemma" [syn: {genuine},
         {literal}, {real}]
     4: of the nature of fact; having actual existence; "rocks and
        trees...the actual world"; "actual heroism"; "the actual
        things that produced the emotion you experienced" [syn: {factual}]
     5: existing in fact whether with lawful authority or not; "de
        facto segregation is as real as segration imposed by law";
        "a de facto state of war" [syn: {de facto}, {factual}]
        [ant: {de jure}]
     6: being or existing at the present moment; "the ship's actual
        position is 22 miles due south of Key West"