factive

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -æktɪv

Etymology 1

fact +‎ -ive

Adjective

factive (not comparable)

1. (grammar, of a verb) Licensing only those content clauses that represent claims assumed to be true.

   You can't say that somebody "discovered" the Moon to be made of green cheese, because "discover" is a factive verb and the Moon isn't made of green cheese.

   Lord Kelvin did not reveal that heavier-than-air flying machines were impossible; he mistakenly believed it. The verb reveal is factive.

   Lord Kelvin revealed that he considered heavier-than-air flying machines to be impossible. The object of the factive verb reveal, in this case, is a true statement about his mistaken belief.

2. (epistemology, of a knowing agent) Which does not know any falsities: which knows only truths.

Derived terms

• factively
• factivity

Noun

factive (plural factives)

1. (grammar) A factive verb.

Etymology 2

Latin facere (“to make”).

Adjective

factive (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Making.