1. [adj]  presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible; "the predicted temperature and the actual temperature were markedly different"; "actual and imagined conditions"
2. [adj]  being or existing at the present moment; "the ship's actual position is 22 miles due south of Key West"
3. [adj]  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"
4. [adj]  taking place in reality; not pretended or imitated; "we saw the actual wedding on television"; "filmed the actual beating"
5. [adj]  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"
6. [adj]  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"

ACTUAL is a 6 letter word that starts with A.

1. \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}.
   

2. \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.