Fact Meaning: Definition, Examples & Usage

Meaning 1：known truth (fact)

fact 🔊

/fækt/

Something that is known or proven to be true, not an opinion or guess.

Fact meaning illustration: brain with light bulb transforming question mark into checkmark

known truth 🔊

➕

/noʊn truːθ/

A piece of information that is objectively true and can be proven, as opposed to a belief or opinion.

📁 Category：School Education 🔖 Level：elementary

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'factum' (deed, thing done), past participle of 'facere' (to do, make).

💡 Mnemonic

Think: FACT = Fully Accepted, Confirmed Truth. Picture a stamp of approval on a document.

📖 Example

The student supported his argument with a fact from the history textbook. 🔊 The student supported his argument with a proven truth from the history textbook.

🔗 Collocations

in fact – Actually; used to introduce a more accurate or stronger statement.

hard fact – An undeniable, concrete piece of information.

fact check – The process of verifying the accuracy of a statement.

🔄 Synonyms

truth (n.) – The real state of things; that which is true.

reality (n.) – The state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they are imagined.

certainty (n.) – Something that is definitely known to be true or to happen.

🚫 Antonyms

falsehood (n.) – An untrue statement or belief.

fiction (n.) – Something invented by the imagination; not based on fact.

myth (n.) – A widely held but false belief or idea.

🌱 Derivatives

factual (adj.) – Based on or containing facts.

factually (adv.) – In a way that is based on facts.

factoid (n.) – A brief, often trivial piece of information.

📖 Cultural Story

Borrowed into English via French in the 15th century, 'fact' originally meant 'action' or 'deed'. By the 16th century, it shifted to 'something known to be true'—a cornerstone of modern science and law.