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"
(psychoanalysis) the process whereby emotions are passed on or displaced from one person to another; during psychoanalysis the displacement of feelings toward others (usually the parents) is onto the analyst
carry out or perform an action; "John did the painting, the weeding, and he cleaned out the gutters"; "the skater executed a triple pirouette"; "she did a little dance"
give a performance (of something); "Horowitz is performing at Carnegie Hall tonight"; "We performed a popular Gilbert and Sullivan opera"
perform a function; "Who will perform the wedding?"
come up with; "His colleagues worked out his interesting idea"; "We worked up an ad for our client"
be calculated; "The fees work out to less than $1,000"
happen in a certain way, leading to, producing, or resulting in a certain outcome, often well; "Things worked out in an interesting way"; "Not everything worked out in the end and we were disappointed"