Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A piece of unverified or inaccurate information that is presented in the press as factual, often as part of a publicity effort, and that is then accepted as true because of frequent repetition: "What one misses finally is what might have emerged beyond both facts and factoids—a profound definition of the Marilyn Monroe phenomenon” ( Christopher Lehmann-Haupt).
- n. Usage Problem A brief, somewhat interesting fact.
Wiktionary
- n. An inaccurate statement or statistic believed to be true because of broad repetition, especially if cited in the media.
- n. An interesting item of trivia.
WordNet 3.0
- n. something resembling a fact; unverified (often invented) information that is given credibility because it appeared in print
- n. a brief (usually one sentence and usually trivial) news item
Etymologies
- fact + -oid; coined by Norman Mailer in Marilyn (1973): "facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper, creations which are not so much lies as a product to manipulate emotion in the Silent Majority". (Wiktionary)
Examples
“So the court does interpret Satanism as philosophical religion and does it grant it certain rights under the First Amendment this factoid is appreciated, however could be also damaging in the future when liberals examine the facts that most Satanic Religions are simply created by people over the Internet.”
The Satanic Perspective on the USA’s Troubling Times | Disinformation
“An interesting factoid is that the extra 10% tax on new cars was started sometime in the mid 1980s as a temporary tax.”
“The refusal to disclose the mathematical calculations used to create the 740,000 factoid is itself cause for serious suspicion; our own calculations indicate that the 740,000 figure is far toohigh.”
“Another interesting factoid is that 38.23 prevents the use of anyunlawfully obtained evidence, not just that obtained by the police.”
“Another fun factoid is that Steven Spielberg was originally signed on to direct the movie but had to cancel due to scheduling conflicts with his other film projects.”
Captain EO Returns to Disneyland on February 23rd 2010 | /Film
“The other factoid is that “trebuchet” comes from the French term meaning to overthrow.”
“And the neologism factoid describes a bit of data which, while seemingly resembles a fact, but ... not so much.”
“(A factoid is a statement that may have no basis in fact, but that is generally believed because it is repeated so often.)”
“These types of things seem so innocent and quaint but I think we need to be very aware of what a large role these false labels can play in establishing a "factoid" in someones mind which cannot be dislodged, regardless of new and actual factual information which conflicts with their established "factoid".”
Poll: Public Thinks Obama's Name Is A Handicap; Believes "Hillary" Better Off Without "Clinton"
“It was one "factoid" I always mention in every lecture I do on solar energy - the unbelievable fact that we would only need to cover about 1/6th of the state of Arizona with solar panels to power 100% of our country's electricity demand, even with current technology!”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘factoid’.
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A Rarefaction of Factoids
List of genuine words and phrases containing the string fact-, -fact-, or -fact. Beginning with ventifact and stupefaction.
ventifact, stupefaction, fact, factoid, rarefaction, unsatisfactory, satisfactory, tumefaction, surfactant, artifact, benefactor, benefaction and 142 more...
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Words related to knowledge
Words that relate to learning, knowing, being enlightened...
revelation, eureka, awakening, idea, sapient, astute, canny, intelligent, wise, sharp, shrewd, informed and 467 more...
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-oids
words taking the suffix -oid. because i wanted to use the word zomboid as in "having the likeness of a zombie". and yes, flavenoids is adopted. we'll tell her when she's older...
zomboid, rhomboid, planetoid, factoid, humanoid, asteroid, trapezoid, alkaloid, android, voidoid, woidies, metroid and 22 more...
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[Open] Frequently confused and misused
Words that are often used to mean something other than what they mean to lexicographers.
apprehensible, immanent, eminent, seamen, venal, venial, brassiere, brassier, brasserie, brazier, brasier, elegy and 38 more...
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Words to Try to Use in Colloquial Spe...
surquedry, equivocate, putative, turgid, congeries, irrefragable, quiddity, zaftig, flagitious, bloviate, perfidy, compendious and 227 more...
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cloudjuice's Words
schadenfreude, sordid, promulgate, erratic, erroneous, amalgamate, sesquipedalian, incongruous, psychosis, etymology, simulacrum, serendipity and 988 more...
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words I love
uncouth, milquetoast, clusterfuck, salacious, usurp, harpoon, unsavoury, bulwark, legerdemain, qualm, quagmire, trumps and 209 more...
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-oid
denoting resemblance
factoid, rhomboid, asteroid, anthropoid, android, spheroid, trapezoid, trapezoidal
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sionnach's Words
contumely, fomite, holmgang, poltroon, eleemosynary, obsidian, nugatory, grindcore, felch, recrudescent, pyx, parenteral and 3271 more...
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srboisvert's Words
couverture, poffertjes, naif, endermatic, prepense, aspic, otalgia, curettage,, florid, piffling, pillock, mow and 164 more...
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ginnylev's Words
neuroplasticity, repudiate, scintilla, ruminate, tautology, ombudsman, exigent, filibuster, grace, ambidextrous, amends, disclosure and 623 more...
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silverthread's Words
kerfuffle, ponder, hither, thither, persnickety, manhandle, fondle, snarky, trundle, truffle, fluffy, mangle and 90 more...
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2007bee-r02
2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee Round 2
query, tendency, danceable, parachute, malignant, brutal, humanely, lyrically, deductible, shindig, gravel, embroidered and 274 more...
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Misdirector's Cut
Hey...
—> —> —> —> —> —> —> —> —> —> —> —> —> —> —> LOOK OVER THERE! —> —> —>
...sneaky, legerdemain, flimflam, unwittingly, clandestine, hornswoggle, sleveen, subversion, espionage, incognito, subreption, gank and 147 more...
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jberkel's list
toodeloo, bedraggled, smithereen, vitriol, obviate, malarkey, scallion, top-notch, awry, twig, pear-shaped, teh and 64 more...
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bdelygmia's Words
bdelygmia, chiasmus, zeugma, synechdoche, schism, ergo, fascist, congeal, snarky, gelatinous, factoid, pretentious and 8 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for factoid.
sionnach coinage attributed to Norman Mailer. Nov 13, 2007