ACT'UAL, adjective 1. Real or effective, or that exists truly and absolutely; as, actual heat, opposed to that, which is virtual or potential; actual cautery, or the burning by a red-hot iron, opposed to a cautery or caustic application, that may produce the same effect upon the body by a different process. 2. Existing in act; real; in opposition to speculative, or existing in theory only; as an actual crime. 3. In theology, actual sin is that which is committed by a person himself, opposed to original sin, or the corruption of nature supposed to be communicated from Adam. 4. That includes action. Besides her walking and other actual performances. [Hardly legitimate.]
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI