Library / English Dictionary |
FACT
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
Example:
first you must collect all the facts of the case
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("fact" is a kind of...):
information (knowledge acquired through study or experience or instruction)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fact"):
case (the actual state of things)
detail; item; point (an isolated fact that is considered separately from the whole)
particular; specific (a fact about some part (as opposed to general))
general (a fact about the whole (as opposed to particular))
matter of fact (a matter that is an actual fact or is demonstrable as a fact)
observation (facts learned by observing)
reason (a fact that logically justifies some premise or conclusion)
score (the facts about an actual situation)
truth (a fact that has been verified)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A concept whose truth can be proved
Example:
scientific hypotheses are not facts
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("fact" is a kind of...):
concept; conception; construct (an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A statement or assertion of verified information about something that is the case or has happened
Example:
he supported his argument with an impressive array of facts
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("fact" is a kind of...):
info; information (a message received and understood)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fact"):
book; record; record book (a compilation of the known facts regarding something or someone)
basics; rudiments (a statement of fundamental facts or principles)
index; index number; indicant; indicator (a number or ratio (a value on a scale of measurement) derived from a series of observed facts; can reveal relative changes as a function of time)
Sense 4
Meaning:
An event known to have happened or something known to have existed
Example:
how much of the story is fact and how much fiction is hard to tell
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("fact" is a kind of...):
realism; reality; realness (the state of being actual or real)
Context examples:
On being charged with the fact, the poor girl confirmed the suspicion in a great measure by her extreme confusion of manner.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
But the mere fact that he was a man, however wild, had somewhat reassured me, and my fear of Silver began to revive in proportion.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
A further knowledge of facts is necessary before I would venture to give a final and definite opinion.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The fact is, if I do not ask you the name of the other party, it is because I know it already.
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Data, facts or figures about an individual; the set of relevant items would depend on the use case.
(Personal Information, NCI Thesaurus)
In fact, you may have charts at several doctors' offices.
(Personal Health Records, NIH)
Labeling of presenilin with irreversible gamma-secretase transition state inhibitors indicates that is itself in fact the site of protease activity.
(Notch Proteolysis and Signaling Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)
The process of formulating general concepts by abstracting common properties of instances; reasoning from detailed facts to general principles.
(Generalization, NCI Thesaurus)
This strain is commonly used in the generation of transgenic mice due to the fact that the pronuclei of FVB/N fertilized oocytes are prominent, which allows for ease of microinjection.
(FVB/N Mouse, NCI Thesaurus)
Fluorescence bronchoscopy is based on the fact that normal tissue fluoresces differently than abnormal tissue when exposed to an appropriate wavelength of light and that this difference can be detected.
(Fluorescence Bronchoscopy, NCI Thesaurus)