factual

English

Etymology

fact +‎ -al, modified by analogy with actual.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfæk(t)ʃuəl/, /ˈfæk(t)ʃəl/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfak(t)ʃʊəl/, /ˈfak(t)ʃəl/
• (General New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈfɛk(t)ʃʉɘl/, /ˈfɛk(t)ʃɘl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

factual (comparative more factual, superlative most factual)

1. Pertaining to or consisting of objective claims.
   • 2001 September 27, Terrie E. Moffitt; Avshalom Caspi; Michael Rutter; Phil A. Silva, Sex Differences in Antisocial Behaviour: Conduct Disorder, Delinquency, and Violence in the Dunedin Longitudinal Study‎^[1], Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 151:

     This hypothesis goes by many names, including group resistence, the threshold effect, and the gender paradox. Because the hypothesis holds such wide appeal, it is worth revisiting the logic behind it. The hypothesis is built on the factual observation that fewer females than males act antisocially.

   • 2012, D.C. Kline, Dominion and Wealth: A Critical Analysis of Karl Marx’ Theory of Commercial Law, Springer Science & Business Media (→ISBN), page 34:

     If, as Marx claimed, these factual views were held by the ideologists of the nineteenth century and if these factual claims could be proven false, then Marx could claim to have refuted certain tenets of capitalist political philosophy on a purely  […]

   • 2014, Derek Matravers, Fiction and Narrative, OUP Oxford (→ISBN):

     Thus, the approach has more flexibility than Lamarque and Olsen's approach; in particular, it is open to the possibility that false factual claims do affect our understanding of, and our evaluation of, fictional narratives.

2. True, accurate, corresponding to reality.
   • 2007, Robin Parrish, Fearless, Bethany House Pub (→ISBN)

     He knew Guardian's real name. Did he dare play that card? "Yes ma'am, that's factual information. All of it."

Derived terms

• contrafactual
• counterfactual
• factualism
• factualist
• factuality
• factualize
• factually
• factualness
• factual relativism
• multifactual
• non-factual
• nonfactual
• post-factual
• prefactual
• semifactual
• transfactual
• unfactual

 

Related terms

• fact
• counterfactual
• de facto

Translations

of facts

• Bulgarian: факти́чески (bg) (faktíčeski), действи́телен (bg) (dejstvítelen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 事實 (zh), 事实 (zh) (shìshí)

• Czech: faktický (cs)
• Danish: faktuel
• Dutch: feitelijk (nl)
• Finnish: todellinen (fi), tosiasioihin perustuva, tosiasiallinen (fi), asiapitoinen
• French: effectif (fr), factuel (fr)
• Georgian: ფაქტიური (pakṭiuri)
• German: faktisch (de), sachlich (de), auf Tatsachen beruhend
• Gothic: 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌾𐌹𐍃 (sunjis)
• Greek: πραγματικός (el) (pragmatikós)

  Ancient: πραγματικός (pragmatikós)

• Italian: effettivo (it), fattuale, concreto (it), reale (it)
• Japanese: 事実上の (じじつじょう, jijitsujō no)
• Korean: 사실의 (ko) (sasir-ui)
• Kyrgyz: фактыларга негизделген (ky) (faktılarga negizdelgen), чыныгы (ky) (çınıgı), актуалдуу (ky) (aktualduu)
• Occitan: factual, factuau
• Polish: faktyczny (pl)
• Portuguese: factual, fatual
• Romanian: efectiv (ro), faptic (ro)
• Russian: факти́ческий (ru) (faktíčeskij), действи́тельный (ru) (dejstvítelʹnyj)
• Spanish: efectivo (es), fáctico, factual (es)
• Swahili: ukweli (sw)
• Swedish: faktamässig, faktuell
• Yiddish: פֿאַקטיש‎ (faktish)

Further reading

• factual in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• factual in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911.

Anagrams

• caul fat

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Portuguese

Alternative forms

• fatual

Adjective

factual m or f (plural factuais, comparable)

1. factual (consisting of facts)

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Spanish

Adjective

factual (plural factuales)

1. factual

   Synonym: fáctico