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"
(physics) the transfer of energy between elementary particles or between an elementary particle and a field or between fields; mediated by gauge bosons
the branch of quantum physics that accounts for matter at the atomic level; an extension of statistical mechanics based on quantum theory (especially the Pauli exclusion principle)
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"
totally and definitely; without question; "we are absolutely opposed to the idea"; "he forced himself to lie absolutely still"; "iron is absolutely necessary"
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers; "an absolutely magnificent painting"; "a perfectly idiotic idea"; "you're perfectly right"; "utterly miserable"; "you can be dead sure of my innocence"; "was dead tired"; "dead right"