: Re: Replacing actually with a more formal alternative I have a sentence that reads as follows, "This study shows that performance of method X and method Y are almost identical in ranking task and

@Kevin153

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In this situation, I would read each term differently:

actually indicates disconfirmation of a prediction
(either the author's or the imagined reader's),
or perhaps the author's surprise at the general nature of the result
(as if the author hadn't even considered the possibility).
indeed indicates confirmation of a prediction
(or at least a possibility)
already explicitly expressed by the author.
in fact could indicate either surprise or confirmation.
lack of any of these terms makes a bare statement, without reference to predictions or expectations.

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