Actually means in fact, as against what was assumed. It was actually quite good, what actually happened, actually, no.
It nearly always corrects an expectation, which is why actually at the start of a sentence usually signals disagreement — and why it can sound combative when none was intended. It is also a filler in British speech carrying no meaning at all. Note that actual and actually are false friends in several European languages, where the equivalents mean current or currently, which catches out a great many learners.
1adverbactuallyIn fact, as against what was assumed.~98%
“Everyone thinks he's shy, but he's actually very funny once you know him.”
2adverbcorrectUsed to correct or contradict politely.~2%
“Actually, that was decided about a year ago.”
Shares are an estimate: a language model read 22 sentences found in the wild and placed 22 of them on a sense — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.
actually is a word of correction.
Latin actualis comes from actus, a doing, from agere, to drive or do. Actually meant in action, as opposed to in theory, and the modern corrective sense grew from the gap between what was supposed and what was done.
Middle English
actually
English, today
actually
From Middle English actually, actuelly, equivalent to actual + ly.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA