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fact definition

fact (fakt)

noun

  1. a deed; act: now esp. in the sense of “a criminal deed” in the phrases after the fact and before the fact an accessory after the fact
  2. a thing that has actually happened or that is really true; thing that has been or is
  3. the state of things as they are; reality; actuality; truth fact as distinct from fancy
  4. something said to have occurred or supposed to be true to check the accuracy of one's facts
  5. Law an actual or alleged incident or condition, as distinguished from its legal consequence

Etymology: L factum, that which is done, deed, fact, neut. pp. of facere, do

fact Idioms

as a matter of fact

in reality; really; actually
also in fact or in point of fact

the facts of life

☆
  1. basic information about sexual reproduction
  2. the harsh, unpleasant facts about a situation in life

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms fact idiom

law fact definition - legal

fact Synonyms

fact

n.

  1. A reliable generality

    reality, actuality, certainty, truth, substantiality, palpability, experience, matter, state of things, truth of the matter, the case, not an illusion, fait accompli (French), what really happened, something concrete, what is the case, matter of fact, hard evidence, hard fact, nuda veritas (Latin), verity, naked truth, gospel, certitude, scripture, law, solidity, permanence, basis, physical reality, existence, corporeal existence, state of being, fact of life, what's what*, straight dope*, bottom line*; see also facts.

    Antonyms fancy*, fiction*, imagination. *

  2. An individual reality

    circumstance, detail, factor, particular, case, consideration, datum, evidence, point, event, action, deed, happening, occurrence, creation, manifestation, being, entity, experience, affair, act, episode, performance, proceeding, phenomenon, incident, thing done, adventure, transaction, organism, construction, truism, truth, plain fact, accomplishment, accomplished fact, fait accompli (French).

    Antonyms error*, illusion*, untruth.

as a matter of fact

in reality, in fact, actually, in point of fact; see really 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

fact Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • ignore: It is quite unrealistic now to ignore these facts.

Converse of subject

  • hamper: Work was hampered by the basic fact that the horse chestnuts were poor quality material from which to produce acetone.

Adjective modifier

  • mere: The mere fact that they may be produced in a new way is no reason for any radical change in the policy process.

Modifies a noun

  • sheet: Back Pain fact sheet Back pain of one kind or another affects millions of people in the UK each year.

Preposition: of

  • matter: The simple fact of the matter is that this witness had no idea what they were talking about.

Preposition: from

  • fiction: Sources will need to be carefully checked in an attempt to sort out fact from fiction!
fact usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

fact quotes

The criterion which we use to test the genuineness of apparent statements of fact is the criterion of verifiability.We say that a sentence isfactually significant to any given person, if, and only if, he knows how to 44 verify the proposition which it purports to express ö that is, if he knows what observations would lead him, under certain conditions, to accept the proposition as being true, or reject it as being false.

-Ayer, SirAlfred Jules

Dreams have only the pigmentation of fact.

-Barnes, Djuna

In writing biography, fact and fiction shouldn't be mixed. And if theyare, the fiction parts should be printed in red ink, the fact parts in black ink.

-Bowen, Catherine Shober ne¤  e Drinker

fact quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"fact." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/fact>

APA Style

fact. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/fact

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