A 2012 online article by The Atlantic named the word “actually” as the worst word in the English language, and the strongest competing word was “literally” for this dubious distinction.
The reason “actually” won was because it is a sneaky word to misuse compared to “literally”.
The most official mistake people make with “literally” is to use it when they mean “figuratively”, and a good example is a sentence like “He is literally a pain in the butt.” This means that “He” has assumed the career of a hemorrhoid or another ailment in a single’s gluteus maximus area, but using the word “figuratively” gives “He” a more accurate designation, that of a bothersome person. The proper use of “actually” is to use it to proper someone in a passive-aggressive manner, however when someone says, “Violets are red.” for example, the haughty response might be, “Actually, it’s more of a red hue.” designed to denigrate the first person’s sense of color. There are an almost infinite number of ways to misuse “actually” and the worst offender is John, my Heating and A/C serviceman, but he’ll supply myself and others a reminder call when it’s time for my semi-annual cleaning and repair. I almost cringe when he says, “It’s genuinely time for your Heating and A/C tune-up.” When John arrives at my house he’ll say, “The traffic was genuinely terrible and that is why I am genuinely late.” causing my blood to boil. The only time I like to hear him misspeak is when he is finished with the task and says, “Your Heating and A/C unit genuinely is in pretty good shape, so I’ll see you in more than five weeks.” When I hear that, it is genuinely like music to my ears because I genuinely ain’t gonna need no sizable repair bill.