1
[ noun ] a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred

Examples

"first you must collect all the facts of the case"

Used in print

(Norman Kent, "The Watercolor Art of Roy M. Mason"...)

But for the technical fact , we have the artist 's own testimony :

([Anonymous,] "The Attack on Employee Services"...)

But even if that other plant employs the same number of workers and makes the same product , there are other facts to consider .

Also , reserve the right to demand proof of death despite the fact that you 'll probably never use it .

(Sports Age, 24:9...)

The Outdoor_Education_Project took cognizance of the fact , so often overlooked , that athletic activities stressed in most school programs have little or no relationship to the physical and mental needs and interests of later life .

(Harold Rosenberg, "The Trial and Eichmann"...)

It is not that the facts of the persecution were unavailable ; most_of the information elicited in Jerusalem had been brought to the surface by the numerous War_Crimes tribunals and investigating commissions , and by reports , memoirs , and survivors ' accounts .

2
[ noun ] a statement or assertion of verified information about something that is the case or has happened

Examples

"he supported his argument with an impressive array of facts"

Used in print

(Norman Kent, "The Watercolor Art of Roy M. Mason"...)

The great absorbency of this tissue and the fact that it is easier to control than a sponge makes it an ideal tool for the watercolorist .

(John R. Sargent, "Where To Aim Your Planning for Bigger...)

Some distribution costs are kept up by competitive pressure , some by the fact that the customers have come to expect certain niceties and flourishes .

We have seen good new products shelved because no one had the assignment to develop such facts and plans - and management could n't make_up_its_mind .

(Sports Age, 24:9...)

The shooting development program of the Sporting_Arms_and_Ammunition_Manufacturers_'_Institute has successfully published these facts in all major outdoor magazines , many national weeklies and the trade papers .

(Harold Rosenberg, "The Trial and Eichmann"...)

But there was a contrast even more decisive than a hunger for fact between the Trial in Jerusalem and those in Moscow and New_York .

Related terms

information index record basics

3
[ noun ] an event known to have happened or something known to have existed

Examples

"your fears have no basis in fact" "how much of the story is fact and how much fiction is hard to tell"

Used in print

(Randall Stewart, "A Little History, a Little Honesty: A...)

Whether historically a fact or not , the legend has a certain symbolic value .

(R. F. Shaw, "The `Private Eye`"...)

Operating as a one_man police_force in fact if not in_name , he is at_once more independent and more dedicated than the police themselves .

(Legislation on Foreign Relations. Committee on Foreign...)

The action of the Commission in allowing or denying any claim under this title shall be final and conclusive on all questions of law and fact and not subject_to review by the Secretary_of_State or any other official , department , agency , or establishment of the United_States or by any court by mandamus or otherwise .

(U.S. Reports. Volume 364. Cases Adjudged in the...)

As was said in Gonzales , `` it is the Appeal_Board which renders the selective_service determination considered ' final ' in the courts , not to be overturned unless there is no basis in fact .

(A.L. Kroeber, "Semantic Contribution of Lexicostatistic...)

These differences in_turn result from the fact that my Yokuts vocabularies were built_up of terms selected mainly to insure unambiguity of English meaning between illiterate informants and myself , within a compact and uniform territorial area , but that Hoijer 's vocabulary is based_on Swadesh 's second glottochronological list which aims at eliminating all items which might be culturally or geographically determined .

Related terms

reality

4
[ noun ] a concept whose truth can be proved

Examples

"scientific hypotheses are not facts"

Used in print

(A.L. Kroeber, "Semantic Contribution of Lexicostatistic...)

There are more stems per item in Athabascan , which expresses the fact that the Athabascan languages have undergone somewhat more change in diverging from proto Athabascan than the Yokuts languages from proto Yokuts .

The differentiation however is not very_much greater , as shown by the fact that Athabascan shows 3.46 stems per meaning slot as against 2.75 for Yokuts , with a slightly greater number of languages represented in our sample : 24 as against 21 .

These general facts are mentioned to make clear that the total situation in the two families is similar enough to warrant comparison .

Related terms

concept

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