in reality or actuality; "in fact, it was a wonder anyone survived"; "painters who are in fact anything but unsophisticated"; "as a matter of fact, he is several inches taller than his father"
unmoved by feeling; "he kept his emotionless objectivity and faith in the cause he served"; "this passionless girl was like an icicle in the sunshine"-Margaret Deland
serving in or intended for exploration or discovery; "an exploratory operation"; "exploratory reconnaissance"; "digging an exploratory well in the Gulf of Mexico"; "exploratory talks between diplomats"
established in a desired position or place; not moving about; "nomads...absorbed among the settled people"; "settled areas"; "I don't feel entirely settled here"; "the advent of settled civilization"
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt; "with details of the wedding settled she could now sleep at night"
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"
in actual fact; "to be nominally but not actually independent"; "no one actually saw the shark"; "large meteorites actually come from the asteroid belt"
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"
at the present moment; "the transmission screen shows the picture that is actually on the air"