actueel

Actueel is a Dutch adjective meaning current, up-to-date, or contemporary. It describes information, events, or situations that pertain to the present moment, as opposed to past or future material. In everyday language as well as journalism, actueel signals timeliness and relevance, often applied to topics such as news, reports, and developments that are happening now.

Origins: actueel derives from the French actuelle (actuel) and ultimately from Latin actualis, related to actus meaning "deed" or "action." In Dutch, the sense has shifted toward present-time relevance rather than the broader sense of "real" or "actual" in English.

Usage and forms: In media and public discourse, actueel is widely used in section headings and headlines to mark items about the present. The word occurs in attributive position before nouns with inflection depending on the noun: actueel nieuws or actuele gebeurtenissen. The term is closely related to synonyms such as hedendaags, tegenwoordig, and huidig, though each carries subtle nuances about time and freshness.

See also: current events, Dutch language, etymology of actueel. The word is a standard part of modern Dutch vocabulary and exemplifies how languages reuse historical formations to express present-time relevance.