in truth

in truth

1. Truthfully, to tell the truth, in fact.
   • 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter IV, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 40:

     So this was my future home, I thought! […] Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.

   • 2011 November 3, Chris Bevan, “Rubin Kazan 1-0 Tottenham”, in BBC Sport:

     In truth, Tottenham never really looked like taking all three points and this defeat means they face a battle to reach the knockout stages -with their next home game against PAOK Salonika on 30 November likely to prove decisive.

   • 2023 March 8, Christian Wolmar, “Labour passes up the chance to deliver a forceful rail policy”, in RAIL, page 34:

     In truth, I suspect it will take more than the first term of a Labour government to address the shortcomings of the railway system in the North.

• See also Thesaurus:actually