Emily Dickinson Lexicon

ACT'U-AL, a. [Fr. actuel. See Act.]

1. Real or effectual, or that exists truly and absolutely; as, actual heat, opposed to that which is virtual or potential; actual cautery, or the burning by a red-hot iron, opposed to a cautery or caustic application, that may produce the same effect upon the body by a different process.
2. Existing in act; real; in opposition to speculative, or existing in theory only; as an actual crime.
3. In theology, actual sin is that which is committed by a person himself, opposed to original sin, or the corruption of nature supposed to be communicated from Adam.
4. That includes action. Besides her walking and other actual performances. [Hardly legitimate.] – Shak.