with discretion; prudently and with wise self-restraint; "I sent for the sergeant of the platoon both men were in and asked him to try to find out discreetly what lay behind this"
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"
unmistakably (`plain' is often used informally for `plainly'); "the answer is obviously wrong"; "she was in bed and evidently in great pain"; "he was manifestly too important to leave off the guest list"; "it is all patently nonsense"; "she has apparently been living here for some time"; "I thought he owned the property, but apparently not"; "You are plainly wrong"; "he is plain stubborn"
to a moderately sufficient extent or degree; "the shoes are priced reasonably"; "he is fairly clever with computers"; "they lived comfortably within reason"
in a practical manner; "practically orientated institutions such as business schools"; "a brilliant man but so practically inept that he needed help to cross the road safely"
almost; nearly; "practically the first thing I saw when I got off the train"; "he was practically the only guest at the party"; "there was practically no garden at all"
(used as an interjection) an expression of surprise or skepticism or irony etc.; "Wants to marry the butler? Indeed!"
in truth (often tends to intensify); "they said the car would break down and indeed it did"; "it is very cold indeed"; "was indeed grateful"; "indeed, the rain may still come"; "he did so do it!"
to the greatest extent; completely; "you're quite right"; "she was quite alone"; "was quite mistaken"; "quite the opposite"; "not quite finished"; "did not quite make it"
to a degree (not used with a negative); "quite tasty"; "quite soon"; "quite ill"; "quite rich"
of an unusually noticeable or exceptional or remarkable kind (not used with a negative); "her victory was quite something"; "she's quite a girl"; "quite a film"; "quite a walk"; "we've had quite an afternoon"
actually or truly or to an extreme; "was quite a sudden change"; "it's quite the thing to do"; "quite the rage"; "Quite so!"
in a serious manner; "talking earnestly with his son"; "she started studying snakes in earnest"; "a play dealing seriously with the question of divorce"