5 ms·

>actual The word you're looking for is "current". Let's have a little patience. We're getting rid of Sarkozy soon enough, but we need to find a suitable repla

by Typhon 15y ago

>actual The word you're looking for is "current". Let's have a little patience. We're getting rid of Sarkozy soon enough, but we need to find a suitable replacement. There's the rub.

nuxi 15y ago
> The word you're looking for is "current". "Actual" is a synonym for "current".
- phaet0n 15y ago
  Sure, it's a synonym, but usage dictates it's incorrect to say "actual President" when you mean "current President", whereas "actual situation" is okay. The original context the writer is most certainly French where actuel means current, however the usage generates a false cognate.
- sylvinus 15y ago
  no it's not? http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/actual http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/actual
  - swombat 15y ago
    In french, it's actually (!) more common to say "actuel" than "courrant". So I'm guessing the OP speaks french as a native language...?
    - tttp 15y ago
      Albeit spending most of my time speaking/thinking English, I'd have to confirm that French is my mother tongue. Well, swiss French, but close enough ;) And I meant to write about the current president indeed.
      - swombat 15y ago
        Small world! Swiss french here too. (grew up in Geneva)
  - nuxi 15y ago
    I'm not a native English speaker (nor French), but other English dictionaries have "existing now or current" as one of the definitions for "actual": http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/actual?show=0&t=1306065182 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/actual?show=0&... http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0007040#m_en_gb0007040 http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0007040#m_en... http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/actual http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/actual http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=actual&tbs=dfn:1&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=J_jYTceZO4Gf-Qav4JWfDw&ved=0CB4QkQ4 http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=actual&tbs=dfn:... http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/actual http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/actual http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?lextype=3&search=actual http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/Dictionary...
    - Vivtek 15y ago
      Speaking as a professional translator, let me encourage you to look beyond dictionary definitions - each definition in a dictionary means that the word in question can stand in a particular role. A true pair of synonyms would coincide in meaning in all situations. Dictionaries can be very dangerous tools indeed in unsure hands. I know I've injured myself with them repeatedly, as has every translator at some time or another. "Actual" is a common mistranslation from French or German. As a rule of thumb, actuel/aktuell can almost always be translated as "current". "Actual" in English means something more like "true". In the phrase "actual situation", "actual" does take on the Latin meaning of "existing now or current", but you can see that today's gloss of "true" also fits there: "true situation" works pretty well to describe the actual situation. Although come to think of it, "actual situation" sounds little odd to my ear (although that is a very dangerous metric, because everything can sound odd if you think too hard about it).
- derleth 15y ago
  It's one of those instances where a synonym isn't actually (ha!) equivalent, and doesn't quite work the same way in the sentence. In this case, 'actual President' would contrast with some fake President running around, whereas 'current President' contrasts with the upcoming President.

by Typhon 15y ago

>actual The word you're looking for is "current". Let's have a little patience. We're getting rid of Sarkozy soon enough, but we need to find a suitable replacement. There's the rub.

nuxi 15y ago

> The word you're looking for is "current". "Actual" is a synonym for "current".

phaet0n 15y ago
Sure, it's a synonym, but usage dictates it's incorrect to say "actual President" when you mean "current President", whereas "actual situation" is okay. The original context the writer is most certainly French where actuel means current, however the usage generates a false cognate.
sylvinus 15y ago
no it's not? http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/actual http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/actual
- swombat 15y ago
  In french, it's actually (!) more common to say "actuel" than "courrant". So I'm guessing the OP speaks french as a native language...?
  - tttp 15y ago
    Albeit spending most of my time speaking/thinking English, I'd have to confirm that French is my mother tongue. Well, swiss French, but close enough ;) And I meant to write about the current president indeed.
    - swombat 15y ago
      Small world! Swiss french here too. (grew up in Geneva)
- nuxi 15y ago
  I'm not a native English speaker (nor French), but other English dictionaries have "existing now or current" as one of the definitions for "actual": http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/actual?show=0&t=1306065182 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/actual?show=0&... http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0007040#m_en_gb0007040 http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0007040#m_en... http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/actual http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/actual http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=actual&tbs=dfn:1&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=J_jYTceZO4Gf-Qav4JWfDw&ved=0CB4QkQ4 http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=actual&tbs=dfn:... http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/actual http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/actual http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?lextype=3&search=actual http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/Dictionary...
  - Vivtek 15y ago
    Speaking as a professional translator, let me encourage you to look beyond dictionary definitions - each definition in a dictionary means that the word in question can stand in a particular role. A true pair of synonyms would coincide in meaning in all situations. Dictionaries can be very dangerous tools indeed in unsure hands. I know I've injured myself with them repeatedly, as has every translator at some time or another. "Actual" is a common mistranslation from French or German. As a rule of thumb, actuel/aktuell can almost always be translated as "current". "Actual" in English means something more like "true". In the phrase "actual situation", "actual" does take on the Latin meaning of "existing now or current", but you can see that today's gloss of "true" also fits there: "true situation" works pretty well to describe the actual situation. Although come to think of it, "actual situation" sounds little odd to my ear (although that is a very dangerous metric, because everything can sound odd if you think too hard about it).
derleth 15y ago
It's one of those instances where a synonym isn't actually (ha!) equivalent, and doesn't quite work the same way in the sentence. In this case, 'actual President' would contrast with some fake President running around, whereas 'current President' contrasts with the upcoming President.