factual

English

Etymology

fact +‎ -ual, modified by analogy with actual.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈfæk.tʃ(u)əl/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈfæk.(t)ʃ(ʊ)əl/
  • (dated, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfæk.tj(ʊ)əl/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈfɛk.(t)ʃ(ʉː)əl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æktʃuəl, -æktʃəl, -ækʃuəl, -ækʃəl

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, 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

Related terms

• fact
• counterfactual
• de facto

Collocations

Translations

Further reading

• “factual”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “factual”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Noun

factual (uncountable)

1. (broadcasting) Programmes having content based on facts, such as documentaries.

   The BBC is increasing its budget for factual this year.

Anagrams

• caul fat

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• fatual (Brazil)

Etymology

From facto +‎ -ual.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: fac‧tu‧al

Adjective

factual m or f (plural factuais)

1. factual (consisting of facts)

Derived terms

• factualmente

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French factuel.

Adjective

factual m or n (feminine singular factuală, masculine plural factuali, feminine and neuter plural factuale)

1. factual

Declension

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /faɡˈtwal/
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: fac‧tual

Adjective

factual m or f (masculine and feminine plural factuales)

1. factual

   Synonym: fáctico

Derived terms

Further reading

• “factual”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014