Clearly vs Actually - What's the difference?
clearly | actually |
(manner) In a clear manner.
(modal) Without a doubt; obviously.
* {{quote-news
, year=2011
, date=December 10
, author=David Ornstein
, title=Arsenal 1 - 0 Everton
, work=BBC Sport
(degree) To a degree clearly discernible.
(modal) In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively.
(obsolete) actively
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)
In modal|lang=en terms the difference between clearly and actually
is that clearly is (modal) without a doubt; obviously while actually is (modal) in act or in fact; really; in truth; positively.As adverbs the difference between clearly and actually
is that clearly is (manner) in a clear manner while actually is (modal) in act or in fact; really; in truth; positively.clearly
English
Adverb
(en-adv)- He enunciated every syllable clearly .''
- Clearly , the judge erred in his opinion.
citation, page= , passage=While Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had warned his players against letting the pre-match festivities distract them from the task at hand, they clearly struggled for fluency early on.}}
- He was clearly wrong on all points but one.
actually
English
Adverb
(-)- Actually , I had nothing to do with that incident.
- Neither actually nor passively. — Fuller.