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Actually vs However - What's the difference?

actually | however |

As adverbs the difference between actually and however

is that actually is in act or in fact; really; in truth; positively while however is nevertheless, nonetheless, even so, that said, in spite of this.

As a conjunction however is

in whatever manner (that).

actually

English

Adverb

(-)
  • (modal) In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively.
    • Actually , I had nothing to do with that incident.
  • (obsolete) actively
    • Neither actually nor passively. — Fuller.

    Alternative forms

    * actially (nonstandard)

    Usage notes

    * In some other languages a word of similar spelling means "now" or "currently"; (e.g., Portuguese "atualmente", Spanish "actualmente", French "actuellement", German "aktuell", Italian "attualmente", Czech ""). This leads many non-native speakers of English to use "actually" when they mean "now" or "currently". * Some commentators have: *
  • remarked upon the irony that this qualifier of veracity often introduces an utter lie;, page 3 and,
    • *
  • noted that in many cases, (term) functions as little more than a vacuous emphatic utterance.ibidem , page 4
    • * In practice, actually and its synonyms are often used to insinuate that the following is either unusual or contrary to a norm or preceding assumption, or to merely preface an overconfident opinion contrasting a previous statement or norm (as per 'vacuous emphasis' note above). : This is actually a really beautiful song. (contrasting opinion) : Actually , I'm not from France - I'm from Switzerland. (contrary from assumption) : At the check-out, the cashier actually greeted me for once. (contrary from norm)

    Synonyms

    * in reality * literally * really * truthfully

    References

    English modal adverbs English words suffixed with -ly

    however

    English

    (POS mixed up)

    Adverb

    (-)
  • (lb) Nevertheless, nonetheless, even so, that said, in spite of this.
  • :
  • *
  • *:Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between; his clerks, however , understood him very well.
  • *
    • , chapter=2, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however , by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired.}}
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=72-3, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= A punch in the gut , passage=Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however , has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.}}
  • (lb) To whatever degree.
  • :
  • (lb) In whatever way.
  • :
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author=(Oliver Burkeman)
    • , volume=189, issue=2, page=48, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= The tao of tech , passage=But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention. Partly, this is a result of how online advertising has traditionally worked: advertisers pay for clicks, and a click is a click, however it's obtained.}}
  • In what way?; how?
  • :

    • Usage notes

    * (nevertheless) Strunk and White’s (The Elements of Style)'' argues that the adverb ''however , in its sense of nevertheless, should be avoided at the beginning of a sentence.

    Synonyms

    * after all * but * nevertheless * nonetheless * notwithstanding * though * that said * still and all

    Conjunction

    (English Conjunctions)
  • In whatever manner (that).
    • Do it however you want.
  • To whatever extent.
    • However far he may get, there'll be many that get further.
    However much you prepare for the exam, there will still be a few questions on which you won't be sure of the answer.
  • (proscribed) Although, though, but, yet.

    • Usage notes

    *

    (although) The use of however'' as a conjunction meaning "but" is identical to its use as a clause-initial adverb meaning "nevertheless", except in punctuation (when written) and in prosody (when spoken). Hence, the following proscribed sentence:

    (proscribed) ''He told me not to do it, however''' I did it.''

    is equivalent to the following accepted one:

    (accepted) ''He told me not to do it; '''however , I did it.''

    In particular, when used as a conjunction in this sense, ''however always appears between the clauses it connects; it does not introduce a true subordinate clause that can be moved to the start of an independent clause, because a conjunctive adverb cannot do that.

    Statistics

    *

    References

    * * * * " however (degree)" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007) * " however (despite)" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007) * " however (way)" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007) * * Oxford English Dictionary , second edition (1989) * Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary (1987-1996)

    Anagrams

    * whoever English conjunctive adverbs English degree adverbs English intensifiers