How to Use actually in a Sentence

actually

adverb
  • I call her Aunt Emily, but she is actually my cousin, not my aunt.
  • Not even the ones that sort of looked like me actually looked like me.
    — Juliane Bergmann, WIRED, 28 Apr. 2024
  • There’s actually no self at the end of the day.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 6 Feb. 2026
  • That hand-off is where the peace of mind actually comes from.
    — New Atlas, 26 July 2026
  • Lots of times, old trees are actually small trees in very hard to get to places.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 4 Mar. 2025
  • Some of them actually went home — like, far away.
    — Adam B. Vary, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025
  • That's on the top of my list, actually.
    — Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 3 Apr. 2026
  • There’s not enough time to actually be lazy!
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Seems the far left may have actually hit a bit of a wall, at least in the last few days.
    — CBS News, 16 Aug. 2026
  • And do any of them actually breathe?
    — Adam Trenkamp, Outside, 11 Jan. 2026
  • These guys cannot actually hurt you.
    — Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
  • To able to actually see these adult actors now back in these roles?
    — Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2025
  • They are also set to be the rare one-offs that will actually go up for grabs.
    — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 9 June 2026
  • There is actually a lot of preschool that is watched in the adults section.
    — Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Dec. 2023
  • So, what types of debts can actually be used to freeze your bank account?
    — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 20 Mar. 2026
  • Is that damning with faint praise, or is the depth actually that good?
    — Pete Sampson, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2026
  • But my problem with the rings comes with how they’re actually used in the game.
    — Ash Parrish, The Verge, 26 June 2023
  • For decades, no one actually saw a drop fall in person.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 9 June 2026
  • Get clear on what this actually requires from you this week.
    — Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2026
  • So there must be some wild cats who actually love water.
    — Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 27 Feb. 2026
  • The bathroom tub – which was a vinyl tub – was actually cut open.
    — Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN, 1 Aug. 2023
  • This may quench what people actually seek from an evening drink.
    — Jesse Pines, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
  • By the time the match actually starts, most players just can’t wait to get on to the court.
    — Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Trump is actually so old, he’s not confused at all.
    — Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 28 Apr. 2026
  • So our laser scanner is actually right up here.
    — Adam Trenkamp, Outside, 27 Feb. 2026
  • How did this actually come about?
    — Ben Smith, semafor.com, 20 Feb. 2026
  • The female actually knocks him down to the ground.
    — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2026
  • And so the president needs to actually tell us what is the end goal here?
    — ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026
  • And the sun goes into the windows and actually heats up the house for free.
    — Jeff Brady, NPR, 20 Sep. 2025
  • So this is actually my first film in this genre as a director.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 8 Nov. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'actually.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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